The Unexpected Girl
by just.a.bit.unlikely
Summary: Sloppy time travels. Lots of spoilers. The Doctor knows she's trouble, and yet she's just trying to unravel her own story of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey meetings with the Doctor and his companions. 9-10-11. Rated T/M for suggested adult themes, although nothing explicit.
1. The Wrong Rooftop

**A/N This is my first attempt to actually write and publish something here, hope you like it! please let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who nor the Doctor's adventures. Besides, if I did you would all probably hate me.**

**Chapter 01 - The wrong rooftop**

The man wasn't really sure about it, and -just in case he _could_ have an option at some point- he picked up some ties from various hangers in the room, under the alarmed looks of the couple standing beside him. It didn't take longer than a minute before he finally chose a bow-tie, closed his eyes and with a sigh he burst through the roof door.

"Great" the girl said to the boy standing next to her in the room, tucking her red long hair under a hat. "Now we're stuck here until they're finished".

"Guess this means we'll miss all the fun" he replied with a wink and leaned over to kiss her lips gently.

Unaware of them, the man on the roof could spot his supposed enemy right in front of him, close to the edge of the building. A sort of human shape, entirely made of metal, reflected the minimum light left, almost a shining glimpse in the darkness that surrounded them. Apart from them, there seemed to be no one else on that large paved roof. He left the elevator upper end, which looked planted like a beach cabin almost in the corner- but _not exactly in the corner_, and started pacing to his opponent. _Good location_, he thought.

"Step closer to the light, you idiot", the mechanical and flat voice of the shape said.

_Is this really necessary_, the man was thinking. He couldn't see the point of this ridicolous attempt to give closure to something he had considered over for a very long time. _Whatever_, he said to himself, and walked closer to the menacing figure, pulling his favourite prop from the inner pocket of his tweed jacket.

"Fine, let's get this straight" he started, and was focusing to remember the words he had, at that point, reharsed in his mind until he was sure he would get that speech as good as it could be but was almost immediately interrupted by another voice from behind him - the guys left in the landing, maybe, _although how rude_, he wondered: "LOUDER, we can't hear you from here!".

"Fine, let's get this straight" he repeated, louder, and again he was interrupted, this time by a crashing and slamming noise from the staircase. "What _the-_" but as soon as the noise stopped he started speaking again. "This is going to be over in a minute anyway, you know, so why can't we at least be quick about it?" he said with a frown to the metallic shape, who was now loading a weapon, a big shotgun with blue flickering lights.

"Dont' try to distract me, it won't work. I'm a Cyberman", the metallic voice replied.

"Again, please" the voices from behind them asked.

"Ok, Cyberman, let's get this- oh, _seriously, I can't believe it_. What now?"

As soon as he had started repeating his line, the roof door had burst open. A tall and skinny man, in a blue pinstripe suit, rushed past the red-haired girl and her boyfriend in the landing and came running through, screaming at them.

"Stop right there!" he screamed.

Both the other man and the cyberman tilted their heads to give him a proper look. The shocked and worried expression on his face didn't match the spiky mess of his hair, but there was something about him that suggested they better listen to him.

"What" the cybermen started, while the man with the bow-tie studied the other man, who was now right at his side, with a serious frown. He didn't like being interrupted - expecially three times in a row. "Look-" he opened, his intention to reassure the man that whatever was worrying him, it was under control.

"Please, get out of here" was all he got in reply from blue-pinstripe-suit man.

"I suggest you get out of here, actually. Calm down, everything is ok" he said, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder, without succeding. He gave the man a confused look and pulled what looked like a metal-cased flashlight from his jacket pocket and turned it on, pointing at the cyberman in front of them. The cybermen didn't seem to like the buzzing sound that came from it and startled with a step back.

"Excuse me, what are you trying to do with that device?" The voice, coming from a speaker hidden inside the metal man helmet, didn't sound menacing as before.

"Ha!" Blue-pinstripe-suit exclaimed, giving the other man a broad smile. "Well, look who's scared now. And I thought I was done with you lot a long ago! Well, not that long ago for you. Well, a long ago for me, anyway. Actually, still..."

"Excuse me" the metallic voice tried to stop his rambling, still pointing the gun at the other man.

"Now, where were we? Oh yes, before I send you back to wherever you popped up from, I can't help but think, how is it that you got to survive Canary Wharf?" he kept on, gesturing theatrically with his hands around their heads.

The man on his side had now a confused face as well. The cyberman was still and silent.

"Ringing any bells?" he was now pacing around them, rolling his eyes from the man in the tweed jacket to the metallic figure. "No? Big battle? Just here in London? Torchwood? Anything?"

"Torchwood?" The cyberman jumped in.

"Ha! I was starting to feel a little lost, good to know we have some common grounds at least. Now-"

"Hm, you've lost _me_" the other man pointed out, nervously picking at his bow-tie. _Itchy_, he thought.

"Are you with Torchwood?" The cyberman repeated.

"No I'm not" he cut, stressing the negative words, disappointed; his face leaning in close to the metallic face of the cyberman. "I'm the Doctor".

At that the cyberman dropped its arm on its side, the gun now aiming at the floor. Still, that clearly didn't sound as definitive as the man had expected, but before he could add anything to get some other reaction than the blank face of the man with the bow-tie, a loud amplified voice from the opposite edge of the roof inerrupted his thoughts.

"CUT! Now would someone care to tell me what's going on here? This is supposed to be a closed set-" A raging man in a checkered shirt and cargo pants was walking quickly towards them, followed by others. The door opened again and the couple finally stepped onto the roof as well.

"Team cyberman, help-FAST PLEASE" the metallic voice still sounded threatening.

The man in the pinstripe suit, the Doctor, with an openly confused gaze, looked around for some explanation.

"Doctor, I think your time on this roof is over". The cyberman said.

The man in the cargo pants rushed to them and put his arm on the Doctor's shoulder. "Look, I am all happy with fans, but we're in a bit of a situation here, you know? Low budget, strict schedule, and honestly, we're wasting too much time". He said in his ears. His voice was kind, but the words were coming out so quickly that the Doctor immediately understood he just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" he cut in.

"I'm the director. Now, why don't you-"

"No, you don't understand, you're all in danger as long as you don't do as I say. First, this is not a joke. Cybermen can be-"

"Hey, it's harmless, let me handle this", the man in the bow-tie jumped in between them, also putting his arm on the Doctor's shoulder. "I really appreciate that you came all this way to be involved, but there's nothing you can-"

"Doctor!" A young girl in a red leather jacket with a spiky ponytail yelled, running through the elevator landing door, past the looks of the rest of the people there, towards the group.

"Wrong roof!"

"Martha!" he squeezed himself out of the man's arm and turned to her. "What took you so long?"

"They said it was a closed set downstairs" she replied.

"At least someone is doing his job properly" the director added, and Martha went on.

"...and I wasn't sure if you really came this way or... Doctor, is that a cyberman?"

"It is! Clever girl. Finally, someone paying attention!" He cheered, and placed his arm on her back, gently pushing her aside. He pointed his buzzing flashlight at the cyberman's helmet and turned it on.

The man in the tweed jacket stepped aside and started walking back to the roof door, muttering. "Whatever. I'm out of here".

"Now". The doctor said, his face changing quickly into serious and menacing. The buzz flashed a blue string of light to the cyberman's head. With a slow and difficult movement, and a heavy noise, the shape tried to step out of the light, but the Doctor kept pointing at the same spot. The cyberman tried to stop the light with its outsized metal hands, but the light was apparently cutting throught the metal, and the metallic giant resignedly threw itself on the floor.

"_Ouch_" the metallic voice said, losing the emotionlessness of its tone. "That _hurt_." The big shape put a great effort in lifting from the floor, carefully examining its wounded hand. "TEAM CYBERMAN, are you there? Help please?"

"Something's wrong" The Doctor said, running his hand through his hair, still looking confused.

"I thought the sonic screwdriver couldn't hurt a cyberman, can it?" Martha asked, walking closer to him.

"Yeah. But not just that, it's... cybermen aren't supposed to feel pain -_at all_".

His eyebrow raised, he looked alternatively at the cyberman's hand and at his sonic screwdriver, twisting it in his hands with an inquisitive look. Only then the redhead girl and the boy from the elevator room jumped at the cyberman, pulling at plugs and clamps at the base of its helmet.

A look of surprise and understanding came to the Doctor's face as he saw the two of them pulling the metallic helmet off from the big armour to reveal the head of a relieved girl, shaking her messy, long hair with an exhausted look.

"Chloe". The Doctor said, and gave her a frustrated, deprecatory look. "I should have known".

As the red-haired girl pulled off the unconfortable cybermen gloves, she stared back at him, running her now free hands through her hair.

"It's _Zoe_". Her face gave no sign of recognition. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

**Blimey, who's that girl...? Keep reading! Hope you enjoy!**


	2. The Unexpected Girl

**A/N. EDIT Realized too late that in canon the Second Doctor had one companion named Zoe. Didn't know that and it's now too late to change the name of my character as I'm already 7 chapters in... just thought you should know though, well just pretend there was no companion with such name. :( I messed up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Sadly.**

**Chapter 02- The Unexpected Girl**

Martha couldn't help but giggle a little. Although she was now used to travelling with the Doctor, and the bizarre situations they always ended up in, seeing him confused and speechless was a first. It had been clear since the beginning of that lousy attempt of an explanatory dialogue that Zoe had never met the Doctor before, no matter how hard he had tried to prove her wrong. "If you want to call me an _alien hunter_, fine. That fits better on a business card than _animated figure designer, props maker and costume supervisor_ anyway", she had laughed.

They accomplished to film the scene, and the director was so pleased at the Doctor's interferences and corrections about how a fighting scene should be done that after wrapping he took the Doctor and Martha for a tour in the old and disgraced studios. The roof where the earlier scene happened was in fact on the top floor of an old building not dissimilar to the ones nearby, and rushing in, in pursue of the cyberman, neither Martha nor The Doctor had noticed they had in fact entered a production theatre. The lift leading to the roof was out of order, and several warning signs were hanging on the staircases. The floor was uneven, and the walls were rusty, wallpaper bits flying around, only half of the glue left.

"We finished filming last summer, but the audience at the test screening felt it lacked action, so we are just adding bits with weapons, gunfight, that sort of nonsense. I wanted to make an artistic alien film, you know? but money is everything that matters these days..." he was trailing off, but the Doctor wasn't really paying attention to him, more interested in the things scattered around the props corridor they were walking through. Despite the director's continued "don't touch that, please", the Doctor kept investigating the armours, weapons and technologic machinery around him, pushing buttons and examining random things with his curious blue-light device.

The so called_ team cyberman_ was helping Zoe out of the heavy metallic shape. Thanking them, she stepped out of the armour, stretching her legs and arms.

"You coming for a pint?" The actor, now in jeans and a v-neck t-shirt, asked her, holding out his tweed jacket and the rest of his earlier outfit to her.

"No, let me have fun with those two" she smiled, taking the clothes off his hands.

"Ok. See ya, then" he waved her bye, but she was already distracted, looking at the Doctor, as curious about him as he was about her. He was weird, but good looking. She would have remembered meeting him before, she said to herself as she watched him and his partner Martha waving the director away with forced fake smiles, quick words and what looked like a... badge wallet, from where she was. Once he was gone, they turned to her.

"Well, so here you are, _biiig_ props room full of...Torchwood leftovers... and you expect me to believe _you_ designed the cybermen you were using to film?"

"It should be a bigger room, too. If you only knew how many times things have disappeared from here, never to be seen again. And mind you, not only proper stuff- even notes, sketches, post-its - come, this way" she half-answered him, leading them through the filming studio behind a backdrop into a small room crammed with coathangers and clothes racks.

"Costume room! I love a good costume room! Martha, look at that, a..." he started rambling, then suddenly changing the subject. "hang on, how do you know about Torchwood? Wasn't that supposed to be top-secret?"

"It's not that I know that much about them, honestly". Zoe muttered with a pen between her teeth. "But it was really getting on my nerves that people somehow showed up in here, tearing the place down and stealing my ideas every once in a while. Not everything, it was always related to _just some_ of them, of my aliens. And if I started working on those back again from scratch - _and I've tried_, same thing happened". She was carefully placing the clothes on a rack, marking them off a list she had scribbled on the back of her hand, under a disgusted look from the Doctor. "I wanted to look into it, but all I ever learned was they arrived in a black SUV, with Torchwood written on in bold capital letters. Come to think about it, not very smart if they're a top secret thing and that's really their name."

"Smart is not what I'd call them, nope". The Doctor said, popping the last word. He put on his glasses, looking around, hands in his pockets, leaning in to look closely at the sketches and technical drawings hanging on the walls of the messy room they were in. "You don't have to worry about them, anyway, there's no Torchwood anymore. We've seen the last of them in Canary Wharf. Is this your lab?"

Something on the wall near the Doctor's face caught Martha's attention, and she fixed her eyes worriedly at the design of what looked like a pepperpot with weapons spread out.

"Doctor, is this...?"

He gave her a silencing look and turned to Zoe, who was staring at them, arms crossed. She blew a bang of hair off her forehead and sighed.

"Yes, it's my lab. All I've been telling you, it's all original work".

"Wow" Martha said, her eyes wandering in awe. "What a vivid imagination".

"Ha!" The Doctor snapped. "Except it's not!" he started twirling around the room, a hand in his pocket, the other pointing at drawings. "Silurians, _real_! Daleks, very _real_! Judoons, _real_! Vogons,_ real_! Butterfly people, well, wrong colour, but, still, well... _real_! All these creatures are out there, and you're not inventing anything!" he closed up, pointing the sonic thing at her face.

"Oi!" She blurted.

"That was, ehm, a bit... rude, Doctor" Martha whispered.

"See, these aliens of yours, they're _not yours at all_!", he kept on, and as Martha cought her breath to speak again he anticipated her. "Oh, that was rude again. Sorry. Anyway, you must have seen these aliens somewhere, just as you've met _me_. Now don't come and tell me you've never seen a cyberman before!"

"Of course I've seen cybermen before. They were all over the place when that big explosion... invasion... _fight?_... when that _mess_ happened". She was beginning to get disappointed now, what with this man lurking and telling her she was a _fake_.

He changed his tone, the words coming out kindly, but all the same serious. "Watch your mouth, Chloe. That was a battle. People died. We... _everyone_ lost someone they cared about there" Martha noticed the veil of sadness in his eyes and looked away, silently hoping she hadn't seen that. "_Rose Tyler_", she whispered.

"It's _Zoe_", she replied, snapping them back out of their thoughts. "And I'm sorry about my vocabulary and your loss of this Rose Tyler. What I meant was that I've seen those cybermen around, but I've designed them way back before the... _battle of Canary Wharf_. Look-" she said, handing the Doctor a technical drawing of the cyberman suit she had been wearing, dated May 2004.

He studied the drawing, surprised, then pointed at the weaponry section on the paper and started questioning her again "What about the big gu-?" when a loud noise made the three of them jump.

"The suit, the weapon, the counter-weapon. Three of each. One is now in New York, for reference, in a special effect studio. They're doing post-production. All made up in 2004, for a tv serial. Now this film too, we're on a budget so I recycled an old design, but we had already finished filming before Canary Wharf".

Other noises were coming from... _the filming studio_? but the Doctor was focused on the cyberman drawing. He kept looking at Zoe with a suspicious gaze, and she found herself forced to look away. Something about his eyes was making her jumpy, and she nervously started picking on her medal necklace, twisting it in her fingers and biting her lower lip.

"I'd really... I mean, I should go take a shower", she finally blurted, grabbing a bag from the deskchair. "Wait here, then you can go on telling me how come _you_ seem to know so much about aliens".

Without much grace, she fled the room, leaving Martha and the Doctor in the mess of her lab, where she sat and he kept examining things around him.

"Ok, what is it?" Martha asked him once they were alone.

"What?" he was purposedly being evasive.

"Why are you so unconfortable with her?"

"What, I'm not-"

"You were rude and you've just met her, there's no reason to-"

"Marthaaa" he cut her off, picking up scribbles from the desk and reading them, his glasses falling to the tip of his nose.

"Is it about Canary Wharf again? I thought you were done being..."

She looked at him, hesitating.

"I thought you were done... _brooding_".

He looked gently at her, half a smile on his lips.

"Martha, I'm not, I don't... _brood_" he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing a hand down his face. "But I'm telling you, I've met her before, and she's... dangerous".

"You mean she's in danger?"

"No, no. She's _literally dangerous_. Mischievous, unexpected, impossibly mad and... mean".

"But she's _nice_! Maybe you're mistaking her for someone else?"

"No. I m'old, but I have a very good memory. That's the same Chloe I've met." he said with a worried grave look of sadness in his eyes. "Biggest mind-games player _ever_. It wouldn't be the first time she's around and things turn up unexpectedly. Think about it, we were chasing that cyberman and we run into a... _tv studio!_ and they're _filming cybermen!" _he said, his voice pitching high, his hands gesturing around. "-now I'm not usually fond of coincidences, but this would be a big _gigantic_ coincidence, don't you think? Come on, Jones, you're clever, think!Why would..."

Martha rolled her eyes, prepared for another endless rant, and was only half listening to him - he was more just _thinking aloud_ than actually _talking to her_, and although she was usually fascinated by his clever reasoning and figuring out things, this time she was a little annoyed. Maybe just because at first Zoe had left the Doctor speechless, she had liked her on the spot, and she couldn't grasp the hostility he was putting on to the girl. Maybe she was being too naive; she was just curious and naturally well-intended, but the Doctor was acting very... unusual.

"-so it can't be-"

She was only half listening, but she _was_ clever and quick. _What are we missing, Jones?_ And something he was unaware of saying called her back to the moment.

"_The cyberman_, Doctor!"

"Yes! The cyberman! ...What? What about the cyberman?"

She jumped on her feet, grabbing his shoulders, repeating the obvious, right in his face.

"We. Were. Chasing. A. Cyberman."

A sudden hit of realization came upon his face, his mouth opened in shocked surprise. But as soon as the two of them started running back to the theatre they heard a scream.

Guided by threatening metallic sounds, they followed the direction of the voices - a scream, again, then a deaf hit, _thud_, the loud cyberman's voice - DELETE! DELETE!, gunfire, and finally, silence.

They popped frantically from the backdrop to find a shocked Zoe, crushed under the weight of the metallic body laying over her. She raised an eye to them, panting.

"Lift this thing up, will ya?"

The big shotgun in her hands was still sparkling, the blue lights flickering.

_There she is. The usual unexpected girl_, the Doctor thought.


	3. Guess who's not human

**A/N: Thank you all for following this story! I'm afraid it won't make any sense for a few more chapters but I'm aiming for a big moffat-style twist at the end of it all. XX**

**Chapter 03 - Guess who's not human**

"How did you do that?" Martha asked in surprise, helping the Doctor in pulling the metallic body up from Zoe, while she struggled to stand up.

"I thought-" she started, slowly regaining her breath, "well, if the cybermen I built were the real deal, as he insisted, perhaps the weapon I built could also take it down, if it were real too. Just a lucky guess, really".

"_Lucky_?" The Doctor repeated, stressing the doubt in his tone. "That's not luck! I'm telling you somehow you don't have a conscious memory of yourself, and yet your knowledge in the matter seems to surface anyway. You humans can't possibly have that technology, not now, not in centuries!" he added, frustrated. He turned on his sonic screwdriver and began sonicing around.

"Well I just built the thing, honestly. Getting it to work, that's a software complicated nerdy thing they figured out in the special effect department. Me, I can't even send attachments to emails" Zoe replied, then turned to Martha, the girl seemingly the only one making sense of what she had said. "Wait, what does he mean, _you humans_?" she asked with a look of genuine curiosity.

"Oh, he's not human. Two hearts and all. A Time Lord, that's what he is".

"Martha!" the Doctor scorned her.

"What? You thought she already knew you, what's the point?"

"I told you, that girl, everytime I met her, she's big trouble, and I seriously mean _biiiig trouble!_ Now she doesn't seem to remember I'm an old time travelling alien, well, _fine_! Let's not put some other mess on top of things when it's already a messed up sit-"

"You're... _an alien?_", Zoe interrupted his train of words.

He stopped and found her looking straight in his eyes, pacing fast to close the distance between them. She stood in front of him, her eyes focusing into his, a smile of excited wonder on her lips.

"I am". He said, returning her look, studying her eyes with the same wonder.

"You're not scared", he pointed out.

"Why would I be?", she giggled. "I've been creating terrifying, wonderful, bizarre and peculiar alien monsters for years now, and it turns out my very first _alien encounter_ is with someone who looks... wait, are you wearing a _human-suit_ like that Edgar lad in _Man in black_?"

"No!" he answered, in distaste. "This is how I look like, for real". He pointed out, straining his tie knot with a hand, running the other through his spiky and thick hair.

"I see. That's... a lot more human than I could possibly imagine".

"I don't... I don't look _human_", he scorned in distaste. "Besides, I could say you humans all look like Time Lords".

"Isn't that quite a name? All of you pretentious know-it-all like you are?"

"I'm the last of my kind". He said.

"Well, lucky me". Zoe replied with a wink. Martha couldn't help but giggle at the tought of him being outspoken by a bewildered girl who didn't seem to care about him being an alien or a time traveller, rather than his being rude. Zoe looked at him smiling with a curious expression, a tender gaze studying the man up close. He felt uncomfortable under her inquisitive mood. A noise came from the corridor and he broke the silence.

"Let's move on, shall we?"

He grabbed Zoe's hand, pulled Martha with his other hand on her shoulder and the three ran towards the exit door. Soon as they were past the props room, a blue flickering light made the Doctor stop, pulling the girls back with him against the wall.

"Say, Zoe, that gun of yours, is it still working?"

She hadn't even realized she was still holding the weapon, and she pushed some buttons to reload it.

"The battery is low. Looks like it's going to take a while".

"Of course. Why would we be lucky. Right. Now, how many people in this building?" He asked, running his hand on his face.

"Everybody left for drinks as soon as we wrapped, so I reckon it's only us three. Must be two guards at the gates outside".

"Great. Now-" he said, buzzing the sonic screwdriver towards the door.

"Cyberman! Ehiiii", he called, only to receive a flashing shot from the metallic figure.

"You will be deleted". His voice stated, no hint of doubt in it.

"_Deleted_! I couldn't figure out how his threats should go. I kept assuming he would say something like _kill _or _exterminate_, yet it didn't sound...right" Zoe blurted in a whisper, more thinking aloud than actually talking, under a wary look from the Doctor and a dazed one from Martha. "Anyway, what do we do?".

"How will you delete us, exactly?" The Doctor asked. "You're alone, and we have weapons" he added, raising his eyebrows with a smile to the girls.

"I am not alone. Two other cybermen are in this facility. They will help" the metallic voice replied emotionless. The sound was coming closer to them. They could easily hear its heavy steps in the corridor.

"Ha! Daft robots" the Doctor giggled, pulling the girls away from the wall, facing the other end of the room. "Always rely on them to give too much information. Anyway, you took one down, but the other must be around here somewhere. Better if we find it before it finds us".

They were turning past the backdrop again, and he didn't notice Martha was standing in the doorway they had come just come through, looking worriedly at the props room.

"Doctor?" she called, her voice trembling.

He was trying to charge Zoe's gun battery with the sonic screwdriver, and it took Martha a second, alarmed call to get his attention.

"Doctor!" she turned quickly towards them, searching around the backdrop with the idea of closing the door to what was coming and slightly panicking, realizing there was no door.

"What?"

"Zoe, you said one out of three suits you guys built was in New York, right?"

"Yes?" Zoe answered, uncertain as to where this was going.

"Then... why are there...?" Martha said pointing at the wall on their side. The cyberman suit Zoe had been wearing earlier had been placed on a stand by the red head girl and her colleague, and the stunt double was standing beside it. What froze them, however, was that a third, metallic, human-shaped figure was standing there as well, and it started blinking in blue lights as soon as the other cyberman across the room reached the doorway, opposite to where the Doctor, Martha and Zoe were watching from. It raised its arm and shot a blinding blue light in their direction. Zoe felt a hit to her side, and dropped the exploding gun, as the three of them started running again.

"To the lift! Run!" the Doctor ordered, pushing them down the corridor, running.

"I don't understand! Why didn't it kill us?" Martha's voice was louder than the buzz from the cybermen heavy steps in the room they left.

"Oh, you humans, your need to _understand_ everything!" The Doctor scornfully commented, still running. "You're running from cybermen, you don't get deleted, and instead of thanking your luck you wonder,_ ehi, why didn't it del-_" he paused, realizing his voice was the only sound in the corridor. He stopped and turned around. The cybermen weren't following them. "...delete us. _Of course_. Hang on. Just wait here". He instructed the girls, who were still running a few steps ahead. He turned around and ducking down, he peaked from the backdrop to see the two cybermen working on the two empty prop suits left in the room.

"What are they doing?" Martha and Zoe were peaking from his side.

"Why- Why won't you ever follow a simple instruction? _Just wait_. Sounds easy. Yet you never do", he sighed, and rolled his eyes. He caught a glimpse of Zoe's attentive gaze at the cybermen.

"What are they...?"

"See, they're probably trying to fix the prop suits you built. That's why they didn't kill us. Cybermen don't kill, they _delete_. They need human brains and body to complete the suits, that's their way of... _upgrading_ humanity. As soon as they're done with those, they'll come looking for us to fill them. _Aaaand_, looks like it took them just the time it took me to tell you this" he wrapped up, talking faster.

"And again!" he grabbed them and pushed them running towards the lift. The cybermen were not that quick, but they were turning past the backdrop faster than they expected.

"How can this be happening?" Zoe asked. "I was wearing that thing! How can it work for them?"

"Well, let's find out." the Doctor sprinted past the lift doors, leading them into Zoe's atelier.

"Martha, you should go back to the tardis. You, that software developer you mentioned? Who's that?"

"Let me look it up" Zoe said, and sat at the desk, opening a small laptop on her desk.

"Why? Why should I go back to the tardis?" Martha asked with a high pitch in her voice.

"I can't put you into danger. As far as I know, Chloe could have built those cybermen suits on purpose, and until I don't find out what's happening here, you're not safe. Now go. It's on the... wrong roof".

"Really? Just because she doesn't remember you? What if she's a time traveller and has not met you yet?"

"She_ is_ a time traveller, but I already met her for her first time. Whatever this is, it's wrong, and the more it goes on, the worst it gets. Now go".

She looked back. The sound of the cybermen approaching closer down the corridor gave her chills.

"I'm not going anywhere, Doctor! Don't you see? She's not who you think she is! Perhaps she has a... twin sister?"

"Oh, right. Because someone who is mistaken for someone else and has a twin sister would logically wait an hour or so before popping that into a conversation with someone who thinks she's the other one. Come on, Martha, you're better than that!"

"Enough" Zoe interrupted. "For the last time, my name is_ Zoe_, it's not _Chloe_. Zoe. I have absolutely no idea of what you're talking about and I'd love for you two to stop blabbering about me like I was not _in the very same room_." The Doctor and Martha were exchanging electric looks at each other. "Here, the name you were looking for". She pointed at something on the screen, then looked around the desk for plugs and cables, finally settling on a pen. She copied the name and address of the special effect studio on the back of her hand.

"Oh, that's a nasty habit, don't do that" the Doctor said, lifting her hand to read.

"Save paper, save the planet", she commented. "Plus I never got that printer installed".

"Is this all a joke to you? Try to be serious for a moment." He retorted. A loud bang on the door made the three of them turn simultaneously to the door. Zoe was again playing with her necklace, pulling the chain to her lips and twisting the round pendant with her fingers.

"Shhh!" the Doctor said, gesturing silence with a finger across his lips. Weirdly, Martha did the same, and Zoe unwillingly dropped her necklace and slowly drew her finger across her own lips.

"Whatever this... _Lsfx people_ did, it must have been triggered by those two other cybermen. Now, I will need to at least sonic one of them and block the frequency on which they're communicating. I need to lure them close enough, though. Aaah!" He pondered, scrubbing his hair. "Ok, then, when I open this door, Martha, _go back to the tardis_. I _mean_ it. Ready?".

He opened the door and jumped out of the room. The cybermen were just past the door, and before they could fire he turned and closed the door back.

"Nope. That didn't work" he panted, while flashes of blue light tried to push the door open. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the lock and sealed it with a buzz.

"What now?" Zoe asked.

"We wait for a better idea". He said, his back scrolling down until he was sitting on the floor. A big film poster was hanging in front of his eyes.

"So, this film, you said you're the costume designer, too?"

"As I said, we're on a budget". She replied with a sad smile.

"Why the bowtie?" The Doctor asked, pointing at the actor's photo, his eyebrows raised in a theatrical expression of bewilderment.

"What about it? I like bowties. Bowties are cool, don't you think?"

"Hm..." he said, rubbing his chin. "yes... I suppose"

Zoe stared at him for a moment, then turned her eyes on the poster. She had had better ideas, but with the actor's attitude and haughtiness that weirdsome outfit had been the best she could have put together. Her real pride had been the cyberman, shining in the poster on the actor's side. It had been difficult for her to phisically build the suits, compared to how easy making the weapons had become, after so many attempts to get them lo look exactly as she imagined them. Holding that thought, frantically, she started rummaging through her desk, in search for something. She opened drawers and cabinets, pulling out tools and bits of metal. The Doctor's face was suspicious, but he couldn't help but think of how clever the girl was. Within minutes, she had built another couple of guns.

She turned around, aiming at the door. "They won't work, but perhaps we'll make them think we're armed". And with that, she opened the door and sprinted out.

"Brilliant!" Martha cheered, jumping up from the floor and following her. The Doctor took her shoulder and pushed her against the lift door, where Zoe had led them.

"And still you're not believing me. Prop or not, it took her only five minutes to built something centuries ahead of what's supposed to be the limits of her knowledge"

"Maybe she's a time traveller".

"Yeah, in early 21st century".

"Or she's just as clever as you".

"Wh- Martha!".

"Then just accept that for once, you're wrong!" She replied, aggressive. "God, you're always blabbering about Time Lords turning presumptuous and arrogant, and you're doing the same thing! We're just human, and she did nothing but help us! Why can't you just accept that perhaps whatever happened between you two might not have happened _yet_ for her? When did you stop trusting people?"

He stared at her then turned his eyes to Zoe. She was covering for them in the corridor, her weapons drawn aiming in the direction where the cybermen would show up from. Martha was wrong. He could trust humans, he had general faith in them; that was the actual reason why he had companions to travel with him. But he could not trust _her_. Not Chloe, or Zoe, or whatever her name was. He had decided long ago he was not a man for second chances, and she already blew too many. Yet the girl standing there was either too unaware of what was coming on to her, or incredibly brave, buying them time _with fake weapons. _

"I'm going to regret this", he whispered to himself, and sprinted out. With quick moves he pushed a surprised Zoe into the lift, and pointing the sonic screwdriver at the controls, he sighed.

"You both, back to the tardis. Please?"


	4. Words, screwdrivers and shotguns

**A/N Thanks for following the story!**

**Chapter 04 - Words, screwdrivers and shotguns**

"So, who are you two exactly?"

Zoe was sitting on the lift floor, her back on the mirror. The silence in the small cubicle was killing her, and she decided she had played with her necklace just enough. Martha, on her side, after waiting for the Doctor to call back, had been a while with the mobile in her hands before she started playing a silly videogame.

"Hm?" she answered distractedly.

"You two, do you always run around saving random people from aliens?"

"That's... his thing, yes. I'm... I'm just along for the ride. But yes, there's a lot of running involved".

"I take it his plans usually work, then", Zoe giggled.

"Just wait and see" Martha turned to her kindly, and gave the girl a smile.

They had been waiting for more than twenty minutes now, and the light had been off for most of it. As they were reaching the rooftop, the lift had stopped in complete darkness, and their only light now was coming from Martha's mobile phone. She only recalled having it in her pocket when the Doctor rang her, earlier.

"Are you in the TARDIS yet?"

"Not yet, Doctor. We're stuck in the lift!"

"Oh, well. Sorry, that was me. I needed to take the power out to isolate the correct frequency and-" he went on using complicated words and technical terms neither of the girls could understand, and wrapped it up with a not really comforting "and as soon as the power comes back, just go to the TARDIS".

It only took longer than they expected.

Zoe had noticed the scornful look the Doctor had rested on Martha during their argument, and didn't want to push the girl into any awkward conversation. But the boredom of just waiting was too much for her. She could see that the Doctor held the answers to her questions, but she liked Martha.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"What? No, I'm... I mean, no, he's not my _boyfriend_".

Zoe could feel a bit of shyness in her answer, but Martha kept going.

"He's... I don't think he _can_ have a girlfriend. I suspect he was in love with Rose, but I never met her and he really doesn't talk much about her. Besides, he's... an alien! And you know, he's brilliant, and he's saved this world and others so many times, more than you can imagine! But he's also always risking his life, and..." she paused, recollecting her thoughts, then added "...I don't know, I think he'd feel a lot more under pressure if he... if he was in a relationship. I mean, he's always on the edge. Comes up with plans last minute, changing his mind along the way. Look at what he did just now, pushed us in the lift and off he goes, trying to fix everything on his own."

"How is this plan working exactly? Is he just going to... _talk_ the cybermen out of deleting us to turn us into machines?"

"Oh, not just talking. But there is an awful lot of talking. And running". Martha smiled, then put a hand on Zoe's knee. "You just need to trust him. He always make it in the end. It's unnerving, you know? All this responsability he feels. It's like he feels literally the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's so clever, but so, so stubborn. God! Sometimes he really thinks he can make it on his own, that he can sort things out just... just speaking, see? He thinks he can always talk his way out of trouble".

Zoe smiled, absentmindedly drawing circles and dots around the letters on the back of her hand, _LSFX, Lumic Towers, Lumic district, Manhattan. _"Yep. I get it. Used to date a lad a lot like him".

"What, was he an alien?"

"Studio producer. Almost alien, though". She giggled.

As she said that, the lift was suddenly flooded with neon light. Blinded, the girls stood up, waiting for the power to come back to the control panel, or for the Doctor to call them back.

"So, saving the world on his own. Without weapons", Zoe commented, looking at the useless guns at her feet, kicking them in frustration with her boots

"With a screwdriver, yes" Martha added. "But at least it's _sonic_", she grinned.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You bet, girl" Martha said, picking up the guns from the floor and sending the lift back down. They landed on the second floor to see the Doctor run in the corridor, his hair sticking up in every direction. He was surprised to see them, disappointed and relieved at the same time. A cyberman was following him, faster than before.

"Wha... What?" he blabbered, jumping back into the lift, pulling the girls back with him.

"Screwdriver and words. Didn't work as planned, hm?" Zoe mocked him.

"I managed to lock the communications. They can't activate your suits or upgrade us. Which will make them... well, very angry. Now-" he said, straining his tight jacket and adjusting his tie "-we need to stop these two".

The lift stopped at the ground floor and they ran back towards the lab, where they met the other cyberman at the bottom of the stairwell. The Doctor and Martha immediately froze.

Zoe aimed at the cyberman and fired.

The cyberman fell to the floor with a buzzing sound, and the lights on his helmet switched dead.

"Wh... How?" Said the Doctor, taking the weapon off her and looking closely at it, turning it in his hands. "You said it was a prop!"

Zoe sounded as surprised as he was. "I don't know! It just... worked, like the other one!", she said.

"Really? Just like that? Well, in that case... let's just... run!"

"Doctor." Zoe was looking around worried.

"NOW. Run".

"Doctor, where's Martha?"

He panicked. They ran to the props room, where they stopped behind the backdrop to lurk as the other cyberman was strapping Martha on a table with cables running to one of the suits.

"Doctor, when you said the conversion wouldn't work, does the cyberman know that?"

He gave her an alarmed look and turned his head to Martha. She was looking back at him, too scared to speak, and was trying to point at something with her finger, although her hand was now locked in a strap on her side.

"He might as well kill her before finding out the machine is useless. The conversion process doesn't need her to be alive, just her brain. Why don't you humans ever listen? just go to the TARDIS. Easy peasy. Now, any ide-" he looked around in confusion. Zoe was no longer there.

"Aaand great. Another one not following instructions." he muttered to himself, a step into the room.

"Now, what if I told you that machine doesn't work?" he called.

The cyberman stopped working on the buttons and turned to the Doctor.

"Cyberman technology is superior. Humans don't know how to impair function of the conversion table. This human will be deleted"

"Then you will just..._well_... delete her. You won't be able to put her brain in that cyberman suit. You're alone and it's over. Release her."

"A cyberman is not an army. We will need the human to create other cyberman. We will have an army".

"Oh really? Well I'm telling you, the machine doesn't work. See, humans may not be able to stop you, but I'm no human. I am the Doctor and you will release her."

"You have identified yourself as the Doctor. Retrieving data about the Doctor".

A flash of light sparkled from the cyberman's helmet to the wall, projecting images of the Doctor, the Daleks and a blonde girl with a blue jumper, all along with a final screening of groups of cybermen scattered in the sky pointing to a window on a tall tower building is South East London.

"The Doctor is an enemy of cybermen. The Doctor will be deleted" The cyberman stated, and he pushed a button to release the straps holding Martha. "The Doctor will be upgraded instead of the human".

As the metallic giant started to lift his arm to shoot at him, a loud noise and a flash of blue light hit it from the back, and it was really over.

Across the room, Zoe was holding the gun.

"See? I told you!" Martha grinned, looking at the Doctor, tilting her head to point at Zoe, who was now pacing towards her to help her out of the machine.

He was deep in his thoughts, but he gave them a forced smile.

"Are you ok?" Zoe asked Martha.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you. If you hadn't been familiar with this place enough to take the long route and come from his back, I don't know how I would have come out of it". She said, smiling fondly at her.

"You're right. Zoe really saved the day. Now, to the TARDIS". The Doctor said, tilting his head to the corridor, hands in his pockets. He leaned back and forward on his heels, looking silently at the floor.

Zoe stepped closer to him, leaning on the suit of the first cyberman she had shot, near the backdrop.

"Doctor..."

"Hm?" He turned around to face her, his face relieved, but not shining bright as Martha was used to see him at the happy ending of an adventure.

"What you said about the cybermen being the same as I imagined... as I designed them, I mean..." she was struggling to talk, afraid of what she was about to ask. "...does this mean there were actual human beings inside these three I've... taken down? Were they... _people?_"

He nodded.

"I'm sorry", he said, "I'm so sorry you had to shoot them, but they were gone long before you met them. All the humanity left in them was brain tissue, the... cybermen, they took out their souls and emotions and fears and everything else that made them human". He added, a sad veil in his tone.

Zoe's face darkened. Although still not sure about the girl, he had the feeling she had never shot anyone before that day. "Is this what happened to your friend, the one who died in the battle? Rose?"

He paused, then suddenly changed his expression, grinning widely.

"Oh no, she's not dead! Not at all! She's... safe and sound, in a parallel universe!" he laughed, although both Martha and Zoe could see he was hiding a completely different emotion under that forced laugh. He had a contagious smile, though, and Zoe found herself giggling.

"Doctor?"

"What?"

"...what the hell is the tardis?" she blurted, finally, as the three walked into the lift to reach the roof. It really had hit a nerve on her that they had been planning an escape based on something no one had bothered to explain her.

"TARDIS. It's an acronym." Martha cut in. "Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's his spaceship. You're going to love it... will she, Doctor?".

"Wait... a spaceship? Now that's just brilliant!"

"And a time machine", the girl closed.

"Marthaaa" the Doctor scolded her. "Anyway, yes, it's a spaceship and a time machine, and you're going to love her, because she _is brilliant_, and you're coming with us. Whoever you are, you are trouble and I don't trust you around on your own, so I'm taking you with us. Besides, I think we might need your help in New York, see what these guys at the special effect lab have been up to. Allons-y!".

He said these last words with a sincere honest tone in his smiling, and he opened the roof door to reveal... _a blue wooden police box_. Walking in that direction, the Doctor pulled out a Yale key and opened the door for Martha, and turned to Zoe who was still a few steps behind them.

"Come along, Zoe". He said, grinning.

She looked paralized, standing still in the dark rooftop, close to the door they just exited through.

"So...", she started, a pitch of wonder in her tone "...is that how alien abduction really works? No... tractor beam? No beeping noises in the night and blinding lights on isolated country roads? Just "_come along_"?

She was still looking in doubt at the box.

"_Really_?"

He flashed her a smile and pushed the door a little more ajar. "Come on!" he invited her.

"No, really. _A police box_?"

"Just... take a look".

"Years of studying and researching designs and technology to find out aliens travel in _wooden boxe_s? Seriously?".

"Zoeee..."

She took in a deep breath, stepped into the box, glanced around and in a second she was out again. She ran along the sides of the box, knocking on walls, her hand resting on the blue wooden boards. Then she smiled widely and jumped back in.

"It's bigger on the inside" she stated, to none of them in particular, although both the Doctor and Martha giggled at the comment. "Oh, and it's beautiful!" She laughed, covering her mouth with her hands in excitement. She couldn't believe it. All those years of imagining and designing alien costumes, weapons and masks were torn apart by the simple sight of the big console standing at the center of the wide room, circled by pillars and azure lights. But it _was_ just a box from the outside. She_ had checked_. That _was _truly brilliant. She loved it on the spot.

The Doctor gazed at her gently, feeling pride for his beloved home and ship. He had been travelling in the TARDIS for almost a thousand years now, and still, he always loved the stunned reaction of anyone walking in for the first time - every single time. He walked to the girl and started speaking.

"Zoe".

She was looking around bewildered, overwhelmed by the room, a smile of satisfaction in her eyes, her hands gently caressing the big coral pillars around them.

"Just to be honest, _I am_ abducting you. I don't want you to wander around and that's why you're coming with us. Is that clear? No wandering around without my supervision. _Is that clear?_"

She started laughing histerically.

"Oh, yes, Doctor". She said, her hand reaching to the console.

The instant her fingers touched it, a golden light burst out from under the console, and embraced the girl, blinding both the Doctor and Martha. The whole ship started trembling and thumping loudly and the lights went flickering in every panel. The Doctor fell over, holding to a railing, his hand reaching for the console. Martha cried. "Doctor? Doctor? What's going on?" And, just as suddenly as it started, within seconds, it was over, the control room restored to its quiet peace.

The light was gone, and so was Zoe.

**A/N Poor Zoe, didn't have time to get acquainted with the TARDIS, did she? Also, I know the Doctor didn't tell Martha Rose was alive in a parallel universe until Utopia, but it's not really a major change, is it? :) Sorry anyway. Updates will come a little slower than expected, I just set myself on a very complicated timey-wimey plot that needs adjusting existing chapters as I go along with it. However these first 4 chapters won't be touched I swear! ****I'm just going to need more time to work on the upcoming adventures! Hope you like it so far and again thanks for all the follows and favorites!Please review :) XX **


	5. Bananas in Villengard

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OC character.**

**A/N First of all, thank you for the support! Still having a little writer's block but I'm posting this anyway, don't want too much time to pass between updates. More to come in the next chapters! Hope you like it! Let me know what you think, constructive criticism will be appreciated. Have I already said I'm not English? And that I'm having trouble with vocabulary? XD**

**05-Bananas in Villengard**

"Doctor? What happened?" Martha asked, a hint of panic in her voice. She quickly stepped back, taking her hands off from the TARDIS console, not quite ok with the idea that just touching it could zap you in blinding light.

"Honestly, I have no idea". He said softly, looking at the spot where Zoe had just vanished.

He couldn't grasp it. Despite Martha's worries, whatever the TARDIS did was not affecting him nor her, as they both had their hands on the console. It had to do specifically with Zoe. Her histerical laughter made him shiver. Then her voice. Then the sudden disappearance. Still, it was quite her thing, he thought. She did that a lot.

The memory of his very first meeting with her hadn't aged a bit, however distant it was. Another time, another planet, and he- another man. He had it clear in his mind as if he was still there, hiding behind boxes in the basement of the weapon factories of Villengard.

He was trying to come up with a plan. The Time War was still haunting him, and after his recent visit to the capital city of that supposedly pacific planet, resulted in nothing less than a massive riot destroying the beautiful marble streets of the center with sonic blasters and cannons, his hatred of violence and weapons took over, and he decided to put an end to it. Villengard would no longer have a sonic weapon factory. He would replace it with something much more useful. Like a sandbeach, say. Or a museum. Or a banana grove.

He had pretty much settled for the sandbeach, when the loud noise of footsteps running led him to pop his head from behind the boxes to lurk in the big storage room. A group of men in a black uniform, their sonic blasters ready to fire, were chasing after a girl. She wasn't properly beautiful, but something about the fierce and focused expression in her green eyes caught the Doctor's attention. Also, she had it wrong if she thought she could go unnoticed through a weapon factory wearing a strapless golden sequin dress, ankle-long, a slash up to her thigh showing skinny and long legs at each heavy step of her leather boots. A small round medal was shining on a chain at her neck, and her stretched arms showed the effort as she struggled with a last run up across the room, jumping on top of a box and landing on a footbridge just above where the Doctor was hiding. Much to his surprise, as the soldiers started firing, she looked down at him, winked, and ran to the end of the footbridge before they blew it.

She slid under the railing bars and jumped down to fall into the Doctor's arms, who caught her to safety.

"Thanks, dear", she said, brushing aside her short, asymmetric black hair off her face. "Now, run!".

She grabbed his hand and he lead her through a door into a large passage that ran along the perimeter of the storage room. Their hands still holding together, they sprinted on a staircase and closed the door behind them before the soldiers could see them. The Doctor peaked through the door to watch them pass by, unaware of their hiding place.

"Ok. So, what's the plan?"

He was staring at her, unbelievingly.

"Sorry, I'm lost. Who are you exactly?"

Her bright eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh, Doctor, it's me! It's Chloe!" she said with a big cheerful smile.

The Doctor's face was blank.

"Oh my god! Is this the first time we meet? Doctor, but it's me!" she giggled.

Pointing her toes, she grabbed the Doctor's leather jacket lapel with both her hands and leaned on. As with an instinctive reaction, he immediately backed off in defence.

"Whoops", she let out, wiping her lips on her bare arm. "No psychic lipstick, see? I'm here for an honest dance".

And with a leap, she locked her lips onto his, her arms hanging firmly on his jacket lapel. Startled, he returned the kiss, holding gently her elbows. He didn't usually indulge in kissing random girls - was that..._a tongue piercing?_ - but the silky touch of her soft skin broke his cold defence and left him abstentminded and numb.

"That was... unexpected" he said, cowardly.

She flashed him a smile. _How could I possibly be somewhat involved with someone like you_, he thought. He was very well aware of not being that good looking in this body, but she... oh, she was beautiful. Her feminine yet androgynous figure had an air of freshness and mystery, and he was struggling to take his eyes off her. The Doctor travelled through planets and civilization without prejudice and he could appreciate everything beautiful in any form, shape and size, but he didn't often look on humans twice. They were too similar to Time Lords, and the pain of finding a truly beautiful human was to him a constant reminder of his lost beloved ones. This Chloe, however, was weakening his strenghts.

"So, Chloe." he blurted.

"Look. I know you can't trust me right now, that it will take a long time for you to rely on me, so, long story short. You're the Doctor, child of Gallifrey, last of the Time Lords, nine hundred and some years old, travelling through time and space with your TARDIS, currently condemning yourself to a life of solitude. Your atonement for bringing the Time War to an end with your own hands. I know you're not proud of those extreme actions and you rarely work them into a conversation. Point is, I know you. I'm from your future. Here. Look. Now, what's the plan?"

She handed him a folded piece of paper. His surprise reached a new level in seeing a complicated pattern of circles, dots and spheres on it. The Gallifreyan Circular Writing. His language. Dazzled, he was still taking in her words. She had a fair point. He wasn't much of a sharer, and he hadn't had companions for a while. Also, he hadn't said a word about the Time War to anyone yet, so it was plausible that she would tell _her_, sometime later in his own timestream and earlier in her. Also, she kissed him, true, but she wasn't claiming to be his wife or anything. She just asked what the plan was. The plan?

"The plan? How do you know I have a plan?"

"Because I'm here to help you, dear. I heard you brag so much about this museum in Villengard created on the ruins of the weapon factory that you destroyed, that I thought, well, let's go lend him a hand. _Future you_ sent me here.".

"Ehi!You know, _dear_" he stressed the word, "for being a time traveller, you don't seem to care much about how much you're revealing about things yet to happen."

"Yep. Bothers you in the future, bothers you now. Should have known."

"That's not fair! I was still weighing between the sandbeach and the museum, now how do I know I don't go for the museum just because you said I would?".

"Now that's your way of thanking me. Some things really never change. Now, I'll distract the guards while you evacuate the building, then we blow the place down, ok?"

"Blow the factory? Are you insane? How are we supposed to do that?"

"Doctor, ...duh" she mocked him. "We are in a building full of explosives" she idled.

A hit of realization stroke him, and his face went bright. She looked at him grinning, her gaze on his dull big face.

"Do you always mock me like that?"

"Hm. That's the way you like me".

"Right! So, you'll distract the guards, and I'll set the fire alarm off to get everyone out".

"Sounds like a plan. See you in a while", she replied, and leaned forward on her toes to peek him gently.

Surprised by the lightness in that simple gesture, he prompted out of the staircase, in her opposite direction.

He sneaked into a corridor, running and reading the signs at the corners with directions of the huge building. He finally found a map and located the packing and shipping department. With the help of his sonic screwdriver, he opened a door and jumped up a flight of stairs. Upstairs, he sonicked another door open and entered the upper corridor.

He ran quickly to the first door, and peeped through the glass panel. He could see a table where various weapons and equipment pieces were displayed, while the rest of the large room was filled with cabinets and shelves, from the floor to the ceiling. On a desk were various binders, neatly piled in a "to record" stack. Not the department he was looking for.

The Doctor ran to the second, larger door and sonicked it. A few steps below, a footbridge gave onto a large, crowded room, where a group of workers were packing a batch of shotguns. Some of them were filling wooden boxes with straw, while others, gently laid the weapons on top, layer after layer of straw. The Doctor smiled satisfied, when he heard someone coughing to catch his attention. He turned around.

A patrol of security guards stared at him from the last step.

He stopped dead in his tracks and reached for his pockets. Smiling, he pulled out a wallet, and flashed it open.

"Sorry. Management inspection".

One of the guards stepped closer to him and picked up the wallet.

"Seems legit. Ok, do what you have to".

"Cheers. Thank you, now, if you could all leave...", he started, taking the wallet back.

The security guards kept staring, and the workers, busy in their jobs until then, stopped to turn and looked up at him.

"Drop everything you're doing! No last-minute corrections!", the Doctor kept going, with a happy grin. His arms spread out, he took a guard by the shoulders and gently ushered him to the doors.

"Management is very concerned about this inspection, lads", he carried on, "I'm sorry, don't think I enjoy doing this".

"Ok, everyone, clear the room, let Mr. Smith proceed with his inspection".

As soon as everyone left the room, he jumped down the second flight of stairs to land on the assembly line, where he started gathering random empty boxes and stacks of straw, tossing the shotguns away.

He ran through his pocket and found a lighter. He was about to light that custom pyre when he heard voices coming.

"Excuse me, Mr. Smith, we can't seem to find your-". The guard approaching stopped paralized on the footbridge, leaning on the railing bars, and slowly pushed a button on his headset, as with his other hand he reached for a gun.

"Wait!". The Doctor begged, raising his hands. "If you shoot me, the entire room is going on fire". He pointed out, smiling ironically. "Your choice!".

The young man looked at him, visibly scared. "Second floor, instrusion", he whispered, hesitantly, in his headset. "Iniciate lockdown, packing and shipping".

A red flashing alarm started buzzing above the door, and a big rolling shutter started lowering. The guard kept his eyes fixed on the Doctor, and trembling, he took the gun up to aim at him.

As he put his finger on the trigger, something hit him at the base of his neck, and he collapsed, his hand still clenching the gun.

The Doctor's gaze followed his passed out body fall down the stairs, and covered his head when the shot fired. Unharmed, he turned to watch the pyre quickly flame up. He made a bolt for the stairs and stared at where the guard was standing before. Holding the wooden lid of a box, Chloe was catching breath, looking at the Doctor. She smiled, relieved.

"I thought you were supposed to distract the guards".

"Sorry. Had a bit of delay".

His lips moved to smile back, but stopped dismayed when he heard the rolling shutter reach the ground.

The room was on fire, and they were locked in.


	6. Kiss kiss bang bang

**A/N Sorry this is a little short, but I needed to get it out of the way before moving on to the next adventure! Hope you like it!**

**06 - Kiss kiss bang bang**

"All employees, leave the facility. Security, every man in escorting the personnel outside".

The fire alarm set off. The Doctor grabbed the guard's unconscious body and dragged him up the stairs, looking at Chloe as she desperately banged on the rolling shutter.

"Here! Try setting 19", he said, throwing the sonic screwdriver in her direction.

She lightly caught it midair and started sonicking the control panel without success.

"It doesn't work!".

"Try setting 74!". He said, laying the guard's body beside her. He felt the man's wrists to check if he was alive. "Good boy", he smiled. The young guard was completely passed out and a deadweight in the Doctor's arms.

"Ok, ok, ok", the girl started repeating, as the shutter began sliding up.

"Told you! Faster, _dear_, before we all burn!". The Doctor started dragging the boy out to the corridor, where the crowd of workers and security guards, running to leave the building, were already past them. The girl lifted the man's legs to help him and immediately dropped them.

"Ouch, too heavy. You get him out", Chloe instructed the Doctor. "I'll check if anyone is still inside. Meet you in the storage room to set the explosives". She leaned on him and ran a hand from his shoulder to the base of his neck, kissing him in surprise.

"Right", he absentmindedly replied.

With a wink, she ran to the stairs. He took a deep breath and started pulling the man to the emergency exit where everyone had left just before.

Outside, the workers and security guards listened to a man in uniform who was roll-calling the various departments with a megaphone. He brought him to where a group of workers were gathered, all of them looking at the flames from the packing room windows.

"You lot! This man needs help!".

He left the boy to two man and a worried girl. and ran back into the building, past the rolling shutter of the packing and shipping department, where the bright red fire was still keeping the emergency sprinkles busy. Except for one, all the other doors were closed. The Doctor had entered the factories thirty minutes before closing time, and even earlier he hadn't noticed many people around.

Satisfied with the place being empty, he gained the staircase and reached the basement, heading to the storage room.

The factory produced almost everything, from ladies handguns to massive cannons for

warships. Pieces of heavy machinery and artillery of every kind were displaced around the room in a logical rigid order. He searched for disruptors or anything that could quickly cause a massive explosion. The Doctor could hear the man outside from the speakers in the corridor.

"Production offices, clear. Archives, clear.".

He finally located the explosive charges, stacked in a protective cage. He gathered some cables around and patted his pockets, realizing he left his sonic screwdriver to Chloe. He searched around, gathering cables and chunks of metal. "Ah! There!", he said to himself, and grabbed a box from a shelf and started smashing the lock on the cage door.

"Good old school! Fantastic!", he cheered himself as the lock fell to the ground, and rushed into the cage to rig the explosives.

"Production chain, clear. Dining room, clear. Changing rooms, clear".

Chloe burst into the room from the other side, again chased by guards.

"Run!"

He ran.

"Next time I'll _distract the guards_, hm?" he panted after they were hidden safely under a large metallic shield. "My sonic screwdriver, please".

"They weren't... distractable enough" she smiled, handing him the device"Now, we really are trapped". She said, adjusting the straps of a black backpack as the Doctor turned around to peak out of the shield to check their options. He soniced the base holding the shield and instructed her.

"Now, if we manage to drag this thing around, we can reach the charges cage and finish setting up. Then we run for our lives. The guards should follow us, but we'll trigger the explosion from the outside".

"I'm afraid it's too late for that", she commented, unzipping the backpack to pick up a leather cuff. She flashed open a flap, revealing a palm-sized keyboard and screen.

Astonished, the Doctor stared at her as the guards called out.

"Hunter, you are trapped! Give back what you've stolen or face your death!"

_She didn't have a backpack. The archive room door was open._

"That's a vortex manipulator" he stated, his tone freezing cold.

"Yep. Made in this very factory _you_'re about to destroy. They say they're pretty easy to use. And I can't wait to give it a try!".

He studied her. He noticed she had some numbers and letters, some sort of code, scribbled on the back of her left hand. As he started to understand, the words started coming out of his mouth only half-conscious. It was not his intention to be made a fool of, but _it was actually too late for that_.

"There's not a chance I'll let you use that creepy device, not now and not in the future. It's not even legal!". He started. "There never will be a museum on Villengard, right? You tricked me".

"Yep. It was fun, too. Who thought you were such a good kisser?", she winked, then started dialing the control pad on the vortex manipulator, strapped on her wrist. "Bye!" She smiled, but before she could push the teleport the Doctor placed a firm hand on the device.

"Not a chance", he repeated.

"You know, Doctor, it's such a shame. All this technology, lost in a whim. It's only fair I take some designs and samples, they'll sell _very well_ on the competition. Plus, who is to know, once you'll blow up everything here? No witnesses. Textbook industry espionage", she smirked, pulling a sonic blaster from her backpack with her free hand. "Have fun building your... _museum_ from ashes. Or leave it as it is, a sandbeach. Or, an _ashbeach_".

Still under the Doctor's grasp, she turned quickly over her free side and stood unprotected outside the shield. pointed the gun at the explosive cage and fired. As soon as the shock reached them, the Doctor let go of Chloe's wrist, and she vanished into thin air.

He still remembered it well, that burning sting of betrayal. It still hurt, his shame about how easy it had been for her to manipulate him into helping her. Nothing led him to believe he wouldn't have destroyed the factory by himself, except it now meant something different than his initial intentions. Chloe's whereabouts were unknown, and she made sure she took every single project paper in the production office before firing the gun, and blowing the factory to the grounds, no matter the hundred or so people that were still inside

The Doctor wanted peace, and she had tricked him into lame and plain _sabotage_, just imposing on his weakness and loneliness in such dark times. He had let his defences down, and the consequences hit him too hard. People have died because of her, and she had took advantage of him.

The worst part of it, he still thought, was that even as he was instructing the local farmers on how blast ashes were the perfect fertilizer for a banana grove, the Doctor could feel his stomach sink in the absolute certainty that being played by Chloe in Villengard was just the beginning, this ordeal just the first of many other times to come.

After all, she had a vortex manipulator now, and even he knew the feeling of power and safety these things - any time travel or teleport device, really - ignited, the infinite possibilities for fraud and carelessness, when with the touch of a button one could call himself out of the very worst situations. She was trouble, and disappearing could easily become quite her thing.


	7. Lost in space

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, of course, blah blah, usual stuff.**

**A/N Some old familiar faces show up here! Sorry this section is going to be a bit long, but I couldn't cut it any different! As it appears, writing complicated adventures, uhm, not my strongest point. Also, all this should happen in less than 30 minutes if it was filmed :) too bad I'm not a script writer... XX Let me know if you think it makes any sense! I'd love to get some feedback from you lovely readers!**

**07 - Lost in space**

_Ok, I'm no expert, but I'm sure time travel shouldn't work like this_, she thought, rubbing her neck. _This wasn't supposed to happen._

"This wasn't supposed to happen".

She heard a deep voice comment just as she was thinking the same thing, and she felt a firm pair of hands grabbing and lifting her up. In dizziness, she opened her eyes.

"What are you doing here? How did you land in my TARDIS?"

The man holding her up was staring at her.

"I... I don't know what happened. I was with... The D-..." She blabbered, confused. "Let me go - who... who are you?" She asked the man, blinking while wrestling herself out of his hands.

"Chloe! Chloe! Look-...". He looked at her, reflecting her same blank gaze.

"It's _Zoe_", she pointed. "Do I... Do I know you?".

"I'm the Doctor! You're in my TARDIS! What are you doing here?".

"I don't know... I'm... I... I was with the Doctor in the TARDIS, but not... ehm, not... not a doctor, _the Doctor_". She mumbled, realizing she didn't even know his name. "I'm sorry, I'm... a bit lost".

"I can see that".

"Can you help me find the other Doctor? The one I was with?".

"Ch- Zoe, look at me. There's no other Doctor. I am the Doctor".

"What... What do you mean?".

The man took her hands and checked her wrists, with a resigned look. Frowning, he let go of her hands, and took a deep breath.

"What?"

"Oh, shut up and let me think. This is complicated".

"What... what is complicated?". She was getting nervous, her voice gaining an irritated pitch.

"I said shut up! You... stupid apes! You think you can just jump on and off the time vortex with no consequences! Everything you say now could change everything! Everything I say now could change everyth-".

He suddenly stopped mid-word, scrutinizing her eyes. He couldn't decipher her blank look.

A loud bump from outside the wooden doors caught their attention, and he dragged her to the captain chair and forced her to sit.

"Listen, I don't have the time to figure this out right now, I have unfinished business on this space station so let's just postpone the whole vortex manipulator conversation, ok?" he said, leaning over her. His tone was upset, with an ironic note in it. "I know you're good at manipulating me so I can't say if you're genuinely meeting me for your first time or if you're messing about, so please, just stay here until I come back. Fantastic! Thank you". He smiled, and ran out of the TARDIS.

Puzzled, Zoe stood perfectly still for a moment. Her mind was furiously trying to work out that bizarre conversation, but the only thing she had actually registered of the man's uncomprehensible rant was _space station_.

The Doctor said the TARDIS was a spaceship, and it was just a box on the outside. Could she really be _in a spaceship on a space station_? The man told her to stay put, alright, but a _space station_? That could be a once in a lifetime chance. What harm could she possibly cause in just sneaking a little peek outside the blue doors?

Ok, no, that was a bad idea. What if the TARDIS left while she was out? She could end up stuck there, wherever that was. Fiddling with her necklace chain, she pondered, looking around at the amazing console and coral pillars, as to check if there was anyone around to catch her red-handed. But what if...?

_Just a couple 'minutes_.

She resolutedly jumped up, strained her oversized t-shirt and ran to the doors.

She opened the shutter and looked out. With small, silent steps she walked out and carefully closed the blue doors shut behind her. She was in almost complete darkness, the TARDIS apparently parked in a closet. She couldn't see a door, the only opening in the room was a small trapdoor in the middle of the wall in front. She slyly opened it, checking the outside before adventuring out. She found herself looking to a large corridor, paved with marble on all sides. People were passing by on what she thought was a wall as if it was the floor. Soon she spotted a robot-like figure walking on a different wall. No one seemed to have noticed her, and she crawled out, hesitantly pacing to the corner between her wall and the floor, until with a doubtful last step she realized she could walk on any side of the corridor. She followed it to a turn, where a sign pointed to "lower balcony, odd rows". _So, space stations look just like theatre halls_, she tought. _Except with a bizarre sense of gravity._

She followed the arrow and located a red curtain. Her curiosity had the best and she slowly pushed it aside to reveal a cylindric tribune stand, crowded with all sorts of people. Some of them looked like humans, some other were more like monsters from children fairytales, some other looked made of metal or stone. The place _did look_ like some sort of theatre, but where the stage should have been was instead a huge glass window, from which Zoe could see just black dark space. She couldn't help but smile. _Stay in the TARDIS? And miss a cylindric theatre filled with aliens literally standing over her head_?

Absentmindedly she entered the balcony, but realized soon enough that she had not only been smiling, but apparently staring rudely at the aliens gathered there, as they all turned to stare back at her.

No matter how different the aliens' races were, everyone in the room were wearing long capes, patterned in green and gold. She lowered her eyes to check her outfit, a white oversized t-shirt with a cutout neckline, skinny black jeans and ankle leather laced boots.

As she started drawing back to the curtain, she bumped into someone.

"The galaxy eclipse will start in 30 minutes, Miss. Let me escort you to your seat. Can I see your ticket, please? You'll find your cape on the spot".

A blue-skinned posh young man was waiting for her to answer.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have... left it in my jacket. Let me just go and get it", she mumbled, hopeful. "Can... can you give me directions to the cloakroom again, please?".

"Of course. Turn first left, third corridor down and the second up, you'll find it on the right".

"Thank you. Would you like to leave an evaluation?".

"Oh, just... maybe later? I'll be right back!", she smiled, heading back to the red curtain trying not to look suspicious, conveying the experience of years of train-travelling without ticket. _Aliens speak English! _

She wandered off, following the corridor that turned in every direction like a complex piping system, jumping from a wall and landing on the other. She was definitely enjoying the bizarre gravity of the station. Spread on the whole lenght of two oppostie walls were cellars similar to the one where the TARDIS was parked -the third from the corner before the balcony entrance, she counted. She pulled a pen from her pocket and wrote it down on the back of her hand, under that New York address she wondered if she was ever going to need anymore. She kept walking, mentally memorizing the way back to the TARDIS, decided not to waste too much time in case the man came back before her.

She found herself at the edge of a big crowded room, with glass walls. Corridors were leading from each direction to a landing that led to the inside, where a cylinder with levers and controls ran the full lenght of the room. The room was safely guarded by men with blue skin and golden uniforms, the same race as the stewards. One of them was giving orders in an ear-piece.

"Command 53, check corridor 3X5, level 2. Confirm release of parking slots 1 to 49".

She quickly drew back before anyone could spot her, only to bump into another steward. He was wearing a golden uniform and had long golden spikes on the back of his head, running down his spine like dreadlocks.

"Need anything, Miss?".

"Oh...no, thank you, I'm just lost, I can't seem to find my... parking spot". She hesitantly said. _What is wrong with me?_, she thought, praying for the steward to buy it. _Good job, Zoe. Parking spot?_

"Let me give you a map, Miss. We are here to help".

He placed a round piece of golden metal in the palm of her hand. Before her face could turn clueless, he pressed it and a 3D projection of the space station appeared in blue light. He pointed a finger in it and the image zoomed in.

"You are here, Miss". He explained, pointing at a red blinking dot. "Here are the guests parking slots", he added, panning the map around with his fingers. "Would you like to leave an evaluation of the service?".

She stared at the 3d map, distracted. Then looked up at the steward.

"Evaluation?".

He lifted a palmtop from his chest and handed her a soft nib. _XXDMI Galaxy Eclipse Deluxe Observation Deck Personell evaluation - Was Steward 79a Command 31, helpful? 1-not at all, 2-hardly, 3-pretty much, yes, 4-yes, thank you, 5-oh he was great._ She giggled, and pressed 5. "What is your name?", she asked.

"I'm Steward 79a Command 31", he replied politely. "Thank you for your appreciation, Miss". He smiled.

"What, is that your name?".

"Yes, Miss. Thank you".

"But..." before she could ask, he gently bowed his head and turned away.

Zoe stood there speechless for a second, then she started going back to where the TARDIS was. She was at her second wrong turn, she realized checking the 3d map, when she heard a faint call from one of the cellars. She looked around. She was alone in that section. Carefully, she stepped closer to the trapdoor, and pressed an ear on the metal shutter.

"Doctor! Doctor!". Someone was calling from the inside.

She tried to pull the trapdoor open but she only got a loud metallic creak from the flap.

"Doctor? Is that you?"

"Ehi! Are you okay?".

"I... yes, I'm alright! I'm just... trapped!". A relieved, girly voice answered from the other side. "Only one side works as floor in this cellar, I can't reach the trapdoor!".

"What happened?".

"They think I was spying!"

"Were you?"

"Oh, I guess..."

"Let me get some help, I'll try to get you out. Were you with The Doctor?". Zoe said, looking around. No answer from the trapped girl.

"Can you hear me?".

"Who... who are you? Are you a Tula?".

"A T-... no, I'm... I'm...I'm human. Look, let me find the...". She mentally decided she trusted the man in the leather jacket to be the Doctor, or at least _a Doctor_, if there was more than one. Whatever she did, she had travelled in space, she could have also travelled in time. Maybe the Doctor she had met at work was not the last of the Time Lords around yet. Perhaps he ended up alone later and she had travelled to before that. Although he said... Oh, whatever. _Let's find this one anyway. "_I'll find him. He'll get you out, I'm sure".

"How did you get here? Are you a friend of the Doctor?_"._

_I think I travelled in time and space. "_I'm... not sure yet. What's your name?"._"._

"I'm Rose".

_Right. Or perhaps I ended up in a parallel universe and this man is the Doctor from that parallel universe._

"I'll get him".

Zoe started running frantically.

Rose. _Rose! _Whoever this Doctor was, she hoped every Doctor had his own _screwdriver_.

Zoe registered the location of the trapped girl's cellar and started running again, to where the Tardis was. Holding the map in her palm, she easily made her way back to the control room, where she stopped hiding against a wall before sliding on the adjacent wall and turning... up.

"Command 14, a gravity manipulator is needed in area D. Moving on! Release parking slots 50 to 99". She heard a steward say, and peeked into the glass room. As the other stewards started pulling levers, she felt her body unwillingly leap, losing balance for an instant, then the gravity that held her on the wall settled back. _That was strange_, she thought. She looked at the map again, and changed side of the corridor again. _Look at me, finding a little jump strange in a place with such messed-up gravity. _

She reached her destination and put the map in her jeans pocket, but couldn't open the cellar that held the TARDIS, and sighed.

As she lifted her hand, hesitantly, about to knock, the trapdoor opened and she spotted the balding shape of a head with big ears, as the man's arms dragged her in.

"Didn't I tell you to stay put?"

"Ouch!", she gasped, retracting. "I'm sorry! I just wanted to take a look, I've never been to a space station!".

"And that's why you shouldn't be snooping around on your own. It's not an amusement park! The whole parliament of this galaxy is gathered here!".

"I said _I'm sorry_! Anyway, someone is looking for you!".

"What? Where? Where is Rose?".

Zoe opened her hand and showed him the cellar where the girl was trapped. The man in the leather jacket glared at her and smiled.

"Fantastic! Where did you get the map?".

"Steward 79a Command 31. These blue people don't have names".

"That's his name. Show some respect! And they're the Tulas, not _blue people. _Let's go, we need to get Rose out. Something bad is going on here". He snatched the map from Zoe's hand and helped her crawl out of the cellar.

"Come on!". He grabbed her hand and started running. At the second turn, they were faced by a round of six steward on each side of the corridor, aiming at them.

Zoe could feel the disapproving look from the man in the leather jacket, but he started speaking harshly.

"No need to use weapons! We're just looking for the loo!", he said, smiling and nudging at Zoe, who nodded, hesitantly.

"Sorry, sir", one of the stewards said, as they all lowered their weapons. "You seemed to have parked out of spot, your ship has been located. They're moving it to the designed parking slots as we speak".

"Ah. Thank you". He commented coldly, a wide smile on his face.

"You're welcome". The steward politely replied, gently bowing his head.

They all stood still for an awkward moment, before Zoe took the man's hand, summoning his gaze. He glared at her, confused, and she held his stare as if trying to tell him something without words. The stewards on the left, right and roof walked away, while the last six on their floor were pausing there. One of them was whispering in his ear-piece, and the uneasy pair could see the others slowly reaching for their guns.

In an instant, Zoe stood on her tiptoes and whispered in the man's ear: "Second down, third left, last trapdoor. Go get her!". He was still doubting, she could tell. "They're releasing the parking slots! Go!". She nudged his elbow and approached the guards.

"I thought you'd like for me to leave an evaluation?".

As they turned to aim their guns, they both jumped to land on the roof. Zoe started running towards the stewards, so fast they couldn't get to fire at her. The man in the leather jacket ran in the opposite direction, and paused at the turn to look back at her, impressed, before she took a leap almost over the stewards' heads and kicked three of them down, landing on the same floor as them.

Driven by a speed she was unaware of, she stood up and ran as fast as she could, quickly switching walls to avoid being shot. She wasn't sure as if the three stewards she had kicked down were already following the Doctor, but she could hear three separate voices chasing her.

"Steward 14f, the manipulator!".

"Where are we?".

"Corridor 5X5, area H, quick!".

All of a sudden, Zoe felt her body unwillingly jump. Except it was not a little unnoticeable leap as before, she was properly _falling_ to the other side of the room.

She only had the instinct and time to curl up before smashing to the ground, now the only floor, something like nine feet below.

The Doctor ran following the map, hiding from the stewards he crossed on his paths. He still wasn't sure about the girl. When they were ambushed, he thought she led him straight into a trap, but then she covered for him to escape. Was it part of a bigger sidetracking plan? He had to stop to let some stewards pass by and heard them talking in their earpieces.

"Backup in corridor 5X5. Stowaway on board. Command 60, go check".

"Reporting for duty, corridor 4X5" he heard one of them replying, and then talking to his team. "I'll go. You proceed with the slots".

The Doctor flipped some switches on his sonic screwdriver and pointed it to the map, where a blue dot started blinking. He zoomed in and watched as it moved along the lines of the corridors, until it stopped.

Worried, he started running again until he reached the landing to the glass control room. He could hear the stewards in confirming what the girl had said.

"Command 65, release of parking slots 300 to 349. Confirm".

He felt a pain in his chest. The TARDIS was gone.

**Sorry for the cliff ;) Hope you liked it! I'll try update again tomorrow, just need to correct some stuff in the next chapters.**


	8. When the going gets tough

**A/N Ready for some action? XX**

**8- When the going gets tough**

She felt like each bone in her body was breaking at the sudden pain, but she opened her eye in time to see one of the stewards approaching, his gun aimed at her. The other was meddling with a remote control with levers and buttons.

_What was I thinking? Running like I was in some action film? You idiot. _

"Don't shoot, let's bring her in. We need to know how much she knows", she heard the third guard say.

_Now if I could only feel my legs_. _If I try really really hard... Come on, you idiot. You're not feeling any pain. You're not hurt. You're dreaming this. You can do it. Come on. Come on!_

The steward was keeping her in aim as the other two stepped closer.

_Since I started, might as well keep the action film role. I'm not going down without fighting, you blue people._

Paralized in a ball, she could hear herself breathing hard. She weakly felt all the strenght she had left gathering and tried to keep focus.

_Just one step closer, lad. I dare you, just come one step closer._

The guard leaned over her impossibly still face, her gaze lost away.

Agonizing, she stretched her legs, tripping the steward over. He dropped the remote control and she caught it in midair, pushing on her back to jump up, as she let out a high pitched scream of pain. She managed to stand on her feet and picked the gun from the steward's holster. Uncertain of her next move, she pointed the gun at his head, waving the remote at the other two.

"Get lost, or I'll shoot him".

_Wow, action-film-Zoe is taking over. Except this trick never works._

"You don't know how to use the gravity manipulator".

Angrily, she hit the steward with the handle of the gun to take him out, and turned to the other two, threateningly pointing the gun at them, alternating her target. _If I'm going down, you're going down with me, fellas._

She laughed histerically, and closed her eyes, crawling up. She took a deep breath, hesitant, then opened them with a fierce gaze. Frantically, she started tapping buttons on the remote, prepared to bounce and smash on the four walls.

_One. Slam!_

At each gravity change ignited, she felt her bones breaking more and more, but with an eye she could see the stewards crashing to the walls with the same violence.

_And again. Come on!_

Careful not to hit her head, not knowing which wall she was switching gravity to, she kept pushing buttons.

_One more? Oh, yes!_

Watching them both fall out of consciousness, she stopped, letting herself slide to the floor, her back on a wall, breathing heavily. The remote slipped out of her hand. With the corner of her eye, she saw one of the stewards push a button on his belt. Slowly, he drew his hand to the holster and got a grip on his gun, lifting it to aim at her. Again, she reached for the gravity manipulator.

_Last one. Go! _

Nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing.

_Bummer._

The gunshot was loud. She closed her eyes.

########

"Can't leave you alone, can I?". The Doctor smiled at Rose, as she covered her eyes from the light coming from the opened trapdoor. "Are you okay?", he asked, relieved that she was in fact where Zoe had told him.

"Doctor!", she brightly cheered him. "'m alright. I'm just... stuck! Can't climb up there! That gravity thing is weird in here...!". She pointed, tilting her head at the floor.

He looked around at the empty corridor.

"What happened, how did you end up in there?".

"One of those blue guys, the... the Tulas! One of them thought I was spying!".

"Were you?".

"'Course I was! Doctor, they're kidnapping everyone!".

"Who?".

"The... the aliens- the people in the theatre, I heard the Tulas talk about... some ransom?"

The Doctor let the information sink in, thinking.

"But that's the Galaxy Parliament! That's why they're releasing the parking slots!" he reasoned. "We're all stuck here! They can ask for anything... what do they want?".

"Doctor... what do you mean, _we're all stuck here_?", she repeated, her voice a little worried.

"Oh, Rose! I... It's all my fault!", he let out. "Let me go find something to pull you out! Stay there!".

"Where do you think I'm going?", she screamed, frustrated.

He gently pulled the trapdoor closed, without sonicking it, and turned the 3d map on. "Ah!", he mumbled, and started running again. At the intersection he turned left and his head smashed onto something hard.

#####################

"Miss? Miss!".

Zoe opened her eyes to see a blue face.

"Wh- what...?", she mumbled, her body still in pain.

"Come on, let me help you".

She hesitantly stood up, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"We don't have much time. Others will come. I'm taking you to the med bay".

She pointed at the next intersection, and took a hard, uneasy step in that direction, still hanging on the man's shoulder.

"No, I need to...". She murmured in a difficult breath.

"Don't worry".

She felt relieved of her weight, and he didn't seem to have trouble in lifting her up in his arms. As she passed out, she felt his golden dreadlocks gently caressing her limp arms.

#############

The Doctor realized he was looking at the wrong point of the map, as he looked outside the glass window panel he had clashed with. His chest hurt as he watched hundreds of capsules slowly eject from the space station, wasting away to the dark space.

_Where will the TARDIS be? _

He oriented the map correctly and took the right turn, only to spot some guards passing by. Hiding back, he jumped on the other side of the wall to try a different route. Again, at the next turn, he saw stewards incoming. His third attempt was better, and he ended up in a different corridor, completely empty. As he turned at the next intersection, he heard a steward talk to his ear-piece.

"I repeat. Command 31 is compromised. Possibly covering for the stowaways. Checking corridor 4X9 area H".

_Covering? Hmm_, he thought. _So whatever is going on here, the Tulas are in charge. This whole space station is corrupt. Nothing good can come out of it._ He turned down and sonicked the door of the mantainance room.

#################

Steward 79a laid Zoe on a medical armchair and held her wrist.

"What-"

"I'm giving you a shot of painkillers. You're a human, so they should run fast into your system".

"No way! I'm not taking drugs from you!", she screamed, in shock, retracting her arm.

"Ssht! No place is safe at this point. Let me help you".

"Why should I trust you? You're... _blue_! How do I know you're not going to kill me?"

"Well it wouldn't be very wise to shoot one of my kind to save you and _then drug you to death_, would it?"

She tried again to wriggle out of his grasp, but he held her firmly and placed a laser pen to her inner wrist. She felt a sting.

"Good girl. It shouldn't take longer than... ten seconds now".

She stared angrily at the man as he checked a timer, and harshly drew her hand back, realizing she wasn't feeling pain in her arm anymore. In fact, she quickly regained her strenght and sprinted her back up to sit.

She pressed her thumb on her painless bruises, in wonder.

"Thank you".

"Don't mention it".

"Sorry I called you _blue_".

"_I am_ blue".

"Didn't mean to sound... _racist_".

"It's okay". He replied politely, helping her to stand up.

"Seriously, though. I have nothing agains your people".

"You should".

"Sorry?". Confused, she walked as he led her out of the room, holding her gunpoint.

"The Tulas on this station, they're trying to kidnap the parliament. My command has infiltrated to find out about the conspiracy. They're trying to sell the galaxy to the highest bidder. Sorry about the gun, it's just a precaution".

A group of stewards passed them by. Steward 79a gave a salute, and they trailed off, but one of them turned to look at the mysterious human.

"Steward! Stop!" he ordered, and then, to the ear-piece and his fellows, "-he's command 31! Stop him! Warning- Corridor 5X-".

He turned, guarding the girl on his side. He faked a dazed expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, sir?", he asked the stewards, and then whispered in Zoe's ear. "Do you think you can run?".

"Yep".

"Let's go then!". He started firing at the stewards, running backwards to reach the intersection. As soon as they turned, he passed the gun to Zoe and pushed some levers on the gravity manipulator, having the stewards fall into the corridor as if it was an elevator shaft.

Zoe looked at her wrist. "This way", she led Steward 79a.

###########

The Doctor didn't have luck in the manteinance room. He found buckets and capes, but nothing that could help him to get Rose out of the cellar. Opening the door to get back out, he saw someone run by, immediately followed by a hard slamming sound.

"Ouch!"

As the running steward stopped to turn back, the Doctor popped out of the room to find a crushed Zoe on the floor right beside the door.

"Oh! Sorry!"

"Nevermind. It's that kind of day". Grabbing his hand to get up, she introduced her hero. "Doctor, this is Steward 79a. He's been helping me".

"Nice to meet you! Let's see if he can help Rose too". he replied, running back to where the girl was still trapped in the cellar.

As they ran to reach Rose's cellar, Steward 79a started explaining the Tulas' conspiracy to the Doctor. He didn't have the time to open the trapdoor and instruct Rose to prepare to jump that they found themselves surrounded by four stewards, pointing guns at them.

"You're from Command 31", they addressed Steward 79a, before giving the alarm in their ear-pieces.

"I am".

They all started fighting. Steward 79a managed to lock gravity with a button on his belt, so that everyone involved was on the same floorside, the trapdoor left on a side wall.

"You two can join the little pink and yellow human in the cellar", the stewards said, before opening fire to the ceiling. "You'll be taken in for questioning. Except for the Time Lord. He will be sold along with the Parliament".

Before anything else, Zoe grabbed the gravity manipulator from Steward 79a's hands and tossed it to the Doctor, as she covered for him kicking and punching two stewards to the ground while he tried to open the trapdoor.

With a sudden movement, Steward 79a took a hold on the Doctor, who dropped his sonic screwdriver to the floor in surprise. He pointed his gun to the Doctor's head and addressed the two stewards left standing.

"You'll go or I'll blow his precious head".

**Not much of a cliffhanger, this one :) **


	9. Boomerang effect

**A/N thanks for making it so far! I still have no idea of how long this whole thing is going to be. Hope you keep reading. **

**9- Boomerang effect**

Rose screamed from the top of her lungs.

"Doctor! No!"

The other stewards laughed.

"That would just be a waste of precious alien genetics. Not exactly top of our priorities", one said.

"Operation Bad Wolf is almost over. We will be sorry to lose a Time Lord, but that won't stop us. As soon as the eclipse starts, the message will be spread across the universe for the auction to begin".

Steward 79a, still holding the Doctor, looked at Zoe.

Quickly, she reached for the sonic screwdriver and pointed it to the control panel near the trapdoor, furiously switching settings. The buzzing intermitting sound turned continuous. Mumbling, she turned it at the gravity manipulator and called Rose.

"Rose, stay parallel to the exit! On the count of three, jump, okay? One... Two...". She turned the sonic screwdriver on and screamed. "Three!".

With a leap, Rose found herself dive through the opened trapdoor, where, much to her surprise, she hit one of the stewards.

Watching his fellow fall to the ground, the other took aim at Steward 79a and fired. Quickly, he pushed his gun and the Doctor away and reached for his belt.

He pushed another button, and the five Tulas instantly started glowing, and all of them vanished, exploded into atoms except for Steward 79a.

"What did you do?" the Doctor hurriedly asked him, as the Tula fell to the ground, his face starting to glow.

"Extreme measures".

"You're killing yourself! You didn't have to do that!"

"Doctor... the parking slots. It's not too late. The gravitational field...".

Zoe grabbed the gun and ran to the agonizing Tula, trying to hold him as he started to fade into her lap.

"No...", she whispered.

"You can still reverse it... before the eclipse starts... you can let everyone free...", were his last words, while he turned into a blue mist and quickly disappeared.

"What... what happened?", Zoe asked.

"The Tula species are gravity locked. Steward 79a released the lock. It's a self-defence mechanism, it affects who triggers it and the others close enough". The Doctor explained. "He did it to save us", he then added, gravely.

The girl was still looking shocked.

"He saved me, back when I was attacked by the others. He saved me and I was injured and he cured me and I didn't trust him", she ranted. "I called him _blue_", she carried on. "He saved me and I didn't trust him", she repeated.

The Doctor and Rose leaned over her, kneeled on the floor, and he put an emphatizing hand on her shoulder.

"He got me out of there, too?", Rose asked, gesturing to the trapdoor.

"No", the Doctor replied.

"Thank you, then, Doctor".

"Actually, Zoe got you out", he noted, signaling the girl with his hand.

"Oh, thank you", she gently said, looking at her. "Haven't I seen you before?".

She was still silent, mourning. The Doctor looked at Rose, inquisitively, then put an expecting hand in front of Zoe. "Let's go. We need to reverse the gravitational field and get the spaceships back, before the eclipse starts. You heard him".

Hesitantly, the girl put the gravity manipulator and the sonic screwdriver into his hand and stood up, following the Doctor and Rose, as he flashed up the 3d map again.

They easily reached the glass control room, still crowded with Tulas.

"Doctor, do you think you can reverse the gravity, once you're in?". Rose asked.

"It shouldn't be too hard. But these are mercenaries, I don't think they will just _allow_ me to do it".

"Incoming, Doctor!", Zoe warned him, spotting two stewards coming from the corridor.

He fiddled with the gravity manipulator and watched in glee as they bounced from the floor to the ceiling and back a couple of times. The girls smiled at him and nodded. The third time they landed on their side, both of them punched hard on the back of their heads and they collapsed. Zoe grabbed the ear-piece from one of them and turned it on.

"Personell, maximum alert. Communications breach. Everyone reroute to the lower balcony", she hissed, faking a soft, professional Tula voice.

They heard everyone mutter in the control room.

"What?"

"Could it be command 31?"

"Command 31 is gone. Maybe something happened with the Parliament".

Zoe spoke again.

"Control, everyone reroute to the lower balcony. The prisoners are insurrecting. Everyone reroute to the lower balcony. Emergency", she blabbered, under the surprised look from Rose and the Doctor.

"Oh, I like her!", she nudged him, biting her tongue in a smile.

The stewards inside were still working.

"Impossible! The advertising message was just transmitted! They can't know!"

"It's the Galaxy _Parliament, _you idiot! Someone must have a communication device on the space station".

"You mean the Parliament knows what's going on?".

"Someone out must have warned them. Everyone, reroute to the balcony! Command 99, keep transmitting", someone instructed, and everyone rushed out of the room.

The Doctor, Rose and Zoe hid until they left and peeped into the room. Only three Tulas were left, busy working on the far side of the cylindric control panel. The Doctor sonicked the lock and the glass door slid open. They crouched to sneak in.

"Zoe, keep an eye on them. Rose, with me", the Doctor said.

Zoe turned so she could watch the room entrance and the stewards working at the same time, as the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her to follow him along the complicated cylindric panel, far from the girl. She looked around grabbing a piece of metal for self defence even if she was still holding Steward 79a's gun.

"If I can just fix this...", the Doctor was thinking aloud, as he started working with his sonic screwdriver on a screen.

"Doctor, who's that girl, Zoe? Friend of yours?", Rose asked.

"Not sure yet".

"Funny. That's exactly what she said".

He sighed, turning his eyes to her without distracting from what he was doing.

"She... I don't know. She's from my future".

"What? Is she your girlfriend?", Rose teased him, nudging his arm.

"No! No! Not at all! She's just... trouble! I only met her once, and I don't think that's happened to her yet. Time travel is messy- ok, this is sorted. Now let's stop the advertising transmission, shall we?".

"Commander, something is wrong, look!" one of the stewards said.

"The parking slots are returning to the stations. Something is meddling with the gravitational fields!"

"Impossible! The controls are all here!".

Zoe waved a hand to the Doctor and Rose, keeping her eyes on the stewards as they passed to the wall to check the side of the cylinder where the pair was hiding, and they had just the time to spot them.

The Doctor and Rose jumped up, surprising them.

"Hi!", they said as one.

"What are you doing there? This is a restricted area! Steward 40, give the a-".

Mid-sentence, they fell to the ground, as something hit the three of them in the back of their heads, one after the other. Zoe, standing behind them, grabbed an l-shaped piece of metal mid-air.

Rose nudged the Doctor, smiling.

"Nice boomerang skills, your friend".

"Lived down under for a while- you done there?", she cut in.

"We need to stop the transmission, and send a distress signal to the Shadow Proclamation. This is serious political conspiracy", the Doctor replied.

"Seriously though, that was great!", Rose cheered.

"If I wasn't a vegetarian I could be some hunter, yeah", she smiled back, nodding, without noticing the cold look the Doctor gave her in hearing her words. "Hurry up, then. It won't take them long to see there is no insurrection whatsoever at the balcony".

He managed quickly to fix the transmission, and as they started walking out Rose watched out of the glass window. The dark space out was beginning to shine brightly, as the eclipse approached. Tiny capsules were coming back to the station from every direction. It was quite a suggestive image, Rose thought. The Doctor smiled at her side, relieved that his TARDIS was on her way back.

"Fantastic!", the Doctor exclaimed. "Off we go!".

They ran out and he sonicked the glass door locked to prevent the returning steward to restore their original scheme, and the Doctor picked up the 3d map.

"Can you get the map to show us where the stewards are?", Rose asked.

"Already done. got the frequency from their belts, now it shows them on the map. See? Now- to the TARDIS, then!".

They started running again, along the corridor walls and jumping at the intersections, until the Doctor stopped and both Rose and Zoe bumped into him.

"Incoming! Back, back!".

Stewards were coming from behind them as well, and they were surrounded at an intersection. Zoe pointed the gun at the stewards and screamed.

"Doctor, Rose, go!".

The Doctor and Rose ran down at the intersection.

"Doctor, we can't just leave her!", Rose protested.

"We're not! Zoe, get ready".

As soon as he saw her jump, he pulled a lever on the gravity manipulator and everyone in the corridor fell off to the opposite side, while she looked like she was diving from on top of them.

She landed in the Doctor's arms.

"You were so brave up there!", Rose smiled to the girl.

"Come on, the Shadow Proclamation ambassadors are almost here", the Doctor interrupted.

They ran past the balcony entrance and again they were surrounded by stewards, and one of them grabbed Rose, holding her neck, a gun pointing to her head.

"Doctor!", Zoe warned him. Terrified, he Doctor tried to reason with them.

"No need to shoot! Your plan failed, you can't sell the Galaxy!".

"Miss, put your gun down. Command, take aim" the steward replied.

Zoe shyly put her gun on the floor and kicked it aside, raising her hands.

The Doctor insisted.

"You don't need to shoot us! It's too late for your plan to work! The eclipse is starting, the gravitational field will expand and lock the space station!".

"At the count of three. One...".

Before he could get to two, Zoe grabbed the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's hand and pointed it to the commander's belt.

They heard a buzz, and all the Tulas glowed and vaporized.

A blue mist was filling the air, as Rose caught her breath.

"Why did you do that for?", the Doctor angrily faced Zoe, her face blushing as she panicked.

"I... I wasn't thinking! They were going to shoot us!"

"You murdered them! Just minutes ago you watched that happen to your friend, and now you go and kill them all?".

"I'm sorry! I followed an instinct!".

"The sonic was on the stewards' frequency! You just killed every single Tula on this station!".

"I'm... I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say!".

"Then just shut up! You...Rose is right! You were brave up there, how come? A 21th century human, first time on a space station, you said, and off you go, kicking and punching and... killing! Again! You did this on purpose! How did you get the gravity manipulator to work?".

"The...I... I just made it work, I don't know! I only tried!".

"With my sonic screwdriver? I made it, I'm the only one who knows the settings! How did you do that?".

"I said I don't know!", she let out.

Rose was watching the two of them, a worried expression.

"Doctor... maybe she's just... a natural?". She hinted.

He didn't smile.

"Look, I'll have to go and talk to the embassadors and explain why there's not a single Tula alive on this ship. For once in your lifetime, both of you, don't wander off. Wait here".

Zoe was still, paralized. The anger in the Doctor's voice made her shiver. Rose placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, he'll come around".

"How do I know?".

"He seems harsh, but... you just made a mistake. He'll cope".

"I hope so. I'm lost here, I might need him", she said, her eyes wandering away. _I am on a space station, and I don't know a single thing_, she thought. _Who's this Doctor? Or the pinstripe-suit-Doctor I met, for all that matters? How will I go back? _Can_ I go back_?

Rose stepped to the red curtain, and called the other girl.

"Look".

Zoe went to her side, peeking through.

"All these species, and... people. You helped saving them, and they never even knew they were in danger". Rose kept on.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"You were only trying to help them. You helped them". Rose's voice was kind and conforting. "Tell you what? You saved _me_".

As the girl turned to smile at her, the eclipse finally began, and the dark screen window burst into golden, green and red shades of colour, like paint scattered on a canvas.

A gentle, humming vibe resounded in the theatre, amplified by the shape of the building. The light and the power reflected by the galaxy, now fully shining, was the most beautiful thing Zoe had ever seen, and she stood petrified until it finished, overwhelmed by a thousand feelings. Lost in wonder, a tear fell from her eye. She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard the Doctor's voice.

"Time to go". She turned around, to see the Doctor and Rose standing outside the TARDIS.

"I'm sorry", she said again. Rose nudged the Doctor. With a sigh, he pushed the door aside to let Zoe in.

"Do you want to call your family?" Rose asked. "He's done this universal roaming thing, you can, uhm, call anyone anywhere anytime, if you want".

"Well I'm not doing that to her phone", he cut in, still angry at her. "I've had enough with Jackie Tyler, thanks".

"No risk, really", Zoe replied, somehow surprised herself of the relief she felt once she stepped again in the TARDIS. "I left my mobile on my desk in... 2008. Besides, got no family to call".

"I didn't know, I'm... I'm sorry", Rose replied.

"2008, you said?", the Doctor asked, his brains trying to figure out what that meant.

He never got his answer, and turning around to face her he was surprised by a sudden burst of golden light, only to find out - just seconds later - that Zoe had disappeared.


	10. Wibbly Wobbly

**Author's note- this is a bit of a filler, hope you don't find it boring. more to come soon! I'm revising some new chapters but I wasn't home this weekend so I'll try fix everything by the end of this week. Also been using a lot of spare time to read some very great fics around here :) I sure have still a lot to learn! please review and help me get better at writing! **

**10- Wibbly wobbly**

"The thing is, she never seem to recognize me. But I can never tell if she's lying or not. Also, our timestreams cross. We don't always meet in the right order", the Doctor told Martha, still checking the TARDIS console for any sign of what happened to the girl.

The girl was silently watching him.

"So what do we do?".

"Let's go back to her atelier and see if we find that New York directions. She had it written on her hand, which means it's...well, disappeared along with the rest of her".

They made their way back to the ground floor and into the lab.

"The laptop's dead. Must have run out of battery", Martha said.

"Mmh, let me see".

The Doctor sonicked the laptop with no success.

"Blimey, this is some old technology" he mumbled and started looking through the desk for the charger. The place wasn't tidy: pictures and scribblings were everywhere in the room, scraps of fabrics, metallic samples, and colour chips were scattered around the floor. Sighing, Martha started opening drawers and cabinets to help the Doctor.

"Some of these costumes are really great", she commented, opening a closet. "Look at this!"

He turned around and his jaw dropped as he saw his companion waving a long strapless sequin golden dress.

"Ah... Human fashion!" he cut off, worried. The doubts about Zoe were still there, and he started feeling he made a mistake by letting her into the TARDIS.

More memories of the familiar grin on the black haired girl were furiously flashing to him.

After they first meeting at Villengard, he randomly bumped into her while he was trying to fix a supposedly prolific agricoltural planet mysteriously turned into a massive case of industrial pollution, enough to alert the galaxy government. He built a device to magnetize the gas and confine it into a container, with the help of a team of environmental activists.

Successfully, he delivered the case containing the gas to them, only to find out she had hired the team to collect and sell the resulting gasses as fuel.

"Thanks, my dear. This would have never worked without you", she had told him with a big smile, before vanishing with a click on her vortex manipulator.

Then there had been the diplomatic incident of the Tulas' massacre on the XXDMI Galaxy Eclipse Deluxe Observation Deck. They stopped their operation, but he had to sit through a very long, reprieving speech from the Shadow Proclamation Ambassador. She had showed up without her vortex manipulator and he honestly believed that Zoe was a different girl, despite her attitude being unclear and confident at the same time.

He met her again, still going under the name of Zoe, when she_ accidentally_ imported 51st century technology to a relatively primitive planet and he had to sedate a revolution, upon discovery that the girl had been hired by a corporation to test the social outcomes of anticipated progress. Before pulling her vanishing trick, she had waved him goodbye ironically with a laconic "By the way, It's Chloe, Doctor. Good to see you again, as always". The planet was however saved, in some bizarre and medieval way that involved mud, spit from a native - not one of his proudest moment, the Doctor pondered - and Rose and himself hopping for their lives.

Later, the girl reappeared in London during the Slitheen incident, but he couldn't figure out her agenda, if she had one. Then, a few days later, she met him for the first time. The Doctor and Rose had received a distress signal from a planet called Marni, a well-known touristic destination. Upon their arrival, they had been greeted by a team of special agents. Amongst them was a girl, with black satin hair and slender legs.

"Welcome to Marni. You must be the Doctor. I'm the supervisor, Chloe Richards. Pleased to meet you".

Even Rose had noticed she didn't have the vortex manipulator on her wrist, and the girl looked at the Doctor with surprise and genuine curiosity.

"We heard so much about you, Doctor".

"How?".

"Oh, friends in common, I suppose".

They had been working under cover to investigate about a wave of time interferences, unusual to the planet, and the TARDIS ended up stuck in an artificial time lock, out of their reach. With the help of his sonic screwdriver, he was surprised that there was no trace of the time vortex on the girl, and human colonies have been around Marni for centuries. Although not trusting the girl, too many people were in danger, and the Doctor had to find a way to sort things out, without his precious ship. It turned out to be easy, and once the problem was solved, Rose realized, not a moment too soon, that the whole thing was a set up to kidnap the TARDIS.

"But why?", the Doctor asked, once he was about to leave.

"Oh, Doctor. There are _legends_ about what the greatest living machines can do. The magical TARDISes from Gallifrey. You appear to have the last one around", Chloe had replied.

"There are other means of time-travel".

"Time travel seems to have its appeal, but it's not just that, Doctor! Do you think I just want to explore?".

"What do you want, then?"

"Time will reveal the answers, Doctor. Not now, though".

"I've met you before, Chloe. You seem to indulge in mercenary plots and general trouble-causing. You're a cheap criminal, not an evil genius. And you're not usually this cryptic".

"Who knows? Maybe I'll cut myself some slack, later on. Scheming is terribly demanding".

"Sorry to hear that. You poor thing", he had commented, with his signature ironic grin.

She gave him her laconic, inscrutable smile.

"It's a shame that we had to meet this way, Doctor. We could have worked so good together".

"Not in a Time Lord's lifetime. And trust me, that's a _very long_ time".

"Oh, Doctor", she said, leaning close to him. "I'm so glad you made it clear that I'll see you again".

"Unfortunately".

"Something tells me it's going to be fun".

Before he could object that _fun_ had different meanings for them, a rescue team appeared from nowhere and took the girl away, relieving the Doctor from the task of deciding what to do with her.

He finally set to try and keep track of her whereabouts, but however troublesome her presence was, she seemed to leave without trace. The Shadow Proclamation didn't have a clue to who she was. UNIT had never heard of her. The TARDIS didn't locate her anywhere or anytime. Chloe was invisible.

After Satellite 5 and the Daleks he thought he was never to see her again. In some way, he expected her to show up as the puppetteer of some major troubles, but he didn't see her for a long time. When Rose acted weird in that hospital on New Earth, he had at first suspected Chloe could be involved, but it wasn't the case. The LINDA lot had never heard of her. He had wondered if she was behind the Canary Wharf Torchwood disaster, and somehow expected to see her posing as an expert, but she never showed up. He had wandered if her face would appear in a cubicle at HC Clemens or in the restored Torchwood base under the river Thames, but it didn't.

Yet their paths crossed again, now and then. He spotted her outside Royal Hope Hospital, the day he first met Martha, but she didn't look at him twice. He found a photo of her on the unwanted list of the New Earth hospital when he met the Face of Boe, but asked no questions.

His train of thought was interrupted by the muffled sound of a mobile phone ringing somewhere in the cluttered room. Martha listened to the Doctor only half-aloud comments, as they kept looking for something to charge Zoe's laptop.

"So, you've met this Chloe a number of times, and she always escapes in the end".

"Well, yeah".

"Must be a bummer for her to constantly be stopped by you. If I were her, I'd run as far away from you as possible, Doctor".

"Nooo", he replied, stretching the vowel. "I think I'm part of a bigger picture for her".

"Why's that?".

"Ha! found it!", he cut off, changing the subject. He connected the laptop to the plug and waited for it to work.

The phone kept ringing.

"Because...?" Martha was waiting for an answer.

As soon as the laptop flashed on, he began tapping the keyboard.

_He tossed the sonic screwdriver to Martha, and instructed her to sonic the security doors open and get everyone out, as he tried to reason with the genetic disaster of professor Lazarus, while being chased around the building. _

_He was running away from an explosion when he saw the girl, standing in front of him with a blue lace minidress and stiletto heels, her hair pulled back in a neat ballerina bun. _

"_Chloe! Great timing, as always!", he cried ironically to her, jumping to push her away._

_They ended up on the floor below, his body awkwardly laying on top of her. She looked straight into his eyes._

"_Sorry!", he snorted, quickly drawing back._

"_Anytime, my dear Doctor. Haven't seen you in a while"._

_He started running, she followed, her heels resounding in the corridor. _

"_When are you from now? How did you know it's me?"_

"_Oh, I saw you downstairs, going all hero. Also, the sonic screwdriver kinda gives it away. Nice girl you have there - what happened to the clever blonde, Rose?"._

_They hid against a wall._

"_What are you doing here?" _

"_I'd tell you, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone. I have a reputation to stand up to, you know"._

"_Giving away your plan, that's a new. What's that then?"._

"_Scientific curiosity - I know, shush", she said, with an ironic worried look. "Relax, Doctor, I'm here for your same reason"._

"_Why do I have a hard time believing you? I was just getting used to the idea that when something is wrong in this universe, it doesn't always revolve around you, and here you are. Genetic manipulation, enter Chloe. I should have seen this coming"._

"_I swear, dear, this has nothing to do with me. I just wanted to see what would come out of that machine"._

"_Satisfied?"._

"_I have to say, the scorpion monster is kinda disappointing. Anyway, I got what I came here for. Guess I'll leave you to it, you're so much better than me at dealing with... stuff. See you, dear"._

_She flapped the vortex manipulator open and shimmered, only to return a second later, in the same spot._

"_Actually, you're too handsome to just let go, in this new body of yours"._

_That said, she grabbed his tie, her other hand clasping this collar. Before he had the time to realize what she was doing, she hungrily kissed him, deeply, leaving him in sudden shock, her hand reaching to his spiky hair. His hands awkwardly moved in mid-air, as if unsure whether to grab her or push her away, but although absentminded, he was returning her kiss._

"_By the way, love the pinstripe suit", she winked at him, retracting, before quickly disappearing._

"Come on, come on, email, email!". He began scrolling the files as soon as they opened.

"Doctor? Are you going to answer?" Martha inquired.

"Oh, that's embarassing", he said, quickly closing a folder of party photos where everyone looked very drunk.

"Doctor!"

"Almost there...".

"And where is this phone that keeps ringing? It's driving me insane".

"Check her jacket, must be Zoe's phone".

"Mind you, I'm not letting you drop that".

"Well... I think... you know, she, uhm, I think she fancies me", he replied, awkwardly straightening his tie.

"Talk about mixed signals", Martha commented, following the ringing noise to a militar style crop jacket on a clothes hanger by the door. She checked the pockets and found only an Oyster card, coins and a set of keys. "It could be a case of, I don't know, some sort of...".

"Timey-wimey?"

"I was gonna go with _schizophrenia_".

"Mmh. Here it is. Let me print it... or, write it down", he said, immediately abandoning the idea of installing the printer, as it meant spend another half-hour looking for cables. "Any luck in getting this noisy phone to stop ringing- oh, good"

He rummaged on the desk to find a pen, and lifting stacks of paper, the ringtone became louder. He found it and picked it up to switch it off, and his jaw dropped.

"What?", he exclaimed.

"Doctor?", Martha worried, drawing close to him.

"What?", he repeated, bewildered, showing her the phone display.

The screen was flashing with the incoming call message _TARDIS calling_.

"How...?", the Doctor was honestly and cluelessly puzzled.

"Oh, for God's sake, just pick up!", Martha scorned him.

"Hello?" he hesitantly answered.

"Doctor?"

"Hm,yes?".

"It's Zoe! I need you to sonic the phone. Setting 73, I'll be right back".

"What? How do you know... Hang on, how can you be in the TARDIS?".

"Oh, technically, I'm not. At least, not yet. Won't be for a long time, apparently".

He could hear her cover the phone to talk to someone.

"Wh-...?".

"Doctor! Setting 73".

He heard someone yell at her at the other end of the line. "It's okay, you can tell him! Sorry, just remembered".

"Who's that? Who's she talking to, Doctor?", Martha asked.

"Must be...".

"Doctor, please!", Zoe encouraged.

"Me", he replied to Martha. "She must be talking to _me_".

**...so whose TARDIS do you think our girl is calling from...? **


	11. Timey Wimey

**It's chapter 11! Guess who shows up? :)**

**11 - Timey Wimey**

"Really? Again?", Zoe complained, checking the back of her head. She didn't know what she had hit, but it was probably that railing she was half-smashed upon.

She rolled on the floor, thrown unwillingly. Her thoughts went to her last plane trip, two months earlier, a continuous clamp on her armrest through turbulence.

She didn't have the time to wonder where she was, although the room was unfamiliar to her, because the whole space around her was bumping and wobbling, as if something was shaking it from the outside.

"Doctor! It's getting worse!".

Loud, excited voices were coming from a gramophone speaker, but Zoe had no idea of who they were and what they were saying.

She managed to hold on to the railing and looked around. A red-haired girl was screaming to a monitor hanging from the control panel of a giant pump, much like the one Zoe had seen in the TARDIS. She checked around and spotted the panelled wooden doors, the interior of the "police public call box" sign flashing on top of it.

"Doctor!" the red haired girl called again, panicking.

The room clattered again and the girl was shoved aside, still hanging on the monitor handle, when she spotted Zoe.

"Ehi! Now how did you end up here? Doctor!" she tried to say, while the room was still jumping and bumping. She recognized a scottish accent.

Zoe was too confused to think, holding on the railing for dear life. The voices from the speaker were growing louder and more worried.

"Is this the TARDIS?" she managed to say.

"Yes it's the TARDIS! And it's crashing, in case you didn't notice!" the girl said, alarmed, while still screaming at the monitor. "Doctor!".

Zoe fell to the floor, again.

"Where is he?", she asked.

"Oh, he's out, the lucky fella. Only us left here, about to fall into the time vortex...", she replied, still holding on to the console, looking at the monitor and listening to the confused mess from the speaker.

"Doctor!" the girl growled again, as Zoe tried to reach her.

A voice was louder than the others.

"Oh, not now, not again! Craig, the planet's about to burn, for god's sake, kiss the girl!".

"Kiss the girl!" the scottish girl joined, repeating, with a hopeful and broad smile.

Suddenly, the ship stopped rocking, and all went quiet.

"Doctor! You've done it! Aha, you've done it!" she cheered, turning to Zoe. "He did it!".

Zoe was still a little lost. "Yay?", she hesitantly said, as the girl hugged her in enthusiasm.

"Amy?" the same voice called from the speaker, now relieved.

"Oh, now the screen's just zeros! Now it's minus one, minus two, minus three...big yes!", she reported. "The Doctor will be back anytime, now!", she then said to Zoe.

"Big no", the girls heard the speaker say. "Emergency shutdown, it's emploding, everyone out, out, out...".

"Doctor?" Amy called, worriedly.

The ship emitted a loud, whirring noise.

"What's this sound?", Zoe asked.

"It's the TARDIS landing... finally!" she cheered, and ran to the wooden doors, spreading them open and finally stepping on the ground outside.

Zoe followed her, to find out they were in a park that stretched along a residential street. She turned to watch the ship. The outside looked just like she remembered, with that peculiar hue of blue. Yet the inside was completely different, she said to herself, slowly walking back in, climbing a flight of stairs in wonder. Compared to the other coral pillars and steampunk, rusty console, this looked much more new and futuristic. Glass floors were around the console, where the grated metallic floor she remembered was. The entire place was a lot more bright than the dim, azure room she left just minutes before. It was absolutely a different ship. _Yet equally beautiful and overwhelming, _Zoe thought as she heard the voices outside coming closer.

"Back in time! You need to go to the paper shop and leave me that note".

"Right little matchmaker, aren't you? Can't you find _me_ a fella?"

The man looked nothing like the Doctor she met. Or the other one, for all pratical purposes. He was tall and skinny, with chestnut floppy hair, and green eyes. He wore an old fashioned shirt, with braces. Walking in, he tossed a tweed jacket on the pilot chair. He was now listening to the console with a stetoscope.

"Oh, the rectifier's playing up again... Hold on". He said, dashing around the console. "You write the note and I'll change that will".

"You got a pen?" Amy asked. "Oh, almost forgot, you have a visit - hottie on board".

"Make sure it's a red pen", he said, running around. "Who's visiting, River?", he curiously asked, eyeing up and down the room in every direction, until he spotted Zoe, standing on the last step of the stair with a puzzled face.

"...Or Chloe?".

He walked closer to her.

"Zoe!", he corrected himself. "You're Zoe", he stated.

"Finally, someone that gets it".

"Zoe! My sweet and sour rockstar!", he hugged the surprised girl, cheering like a child. "I didn't think you were going to show up again so soon! How are you? Amy, it's Zoe! Zoe, have you met Amy?".

Amy was standing near the console, distracted by something she had found in the jacket inner pocket.

"Again? How many times...Oh!", she cut off, looking at the girl's blank gaze. "Nope, this time she actually hasn't met me. Yeah, sorry, the TARDIS was crashing, we didn't have a proper introduction", she waved her hand politely, then turned at his jacket. "Doctor, what is...".

Zoe interrupted her.

"Doctor?", she repeated, hesitant.

"Oh, let me guess, first time you meet me with this face?"he smiled, turning around to let her check him. "Still not a ginger, but what do you think?"

"This face? I'm... not following".

"Come on, Richards, you're smart, figure it out. Where did you jump from? Suppose I didn't look like this yet".

"Doctor, you're not making any sense", Amy cut in.

"That could be a point in proving he's the Doctor, actually", Zoe noted.

"I regenerated! Well, quite a while ago now, but I haven't seen you in...", he looked straight into her eyes, and suddenly grabbed her hands, turning them to check her wrists. "Oh! This must be very early for you! No wonder you feel lost, you young... _human_".

"I'm lost too", Amy reassured the girl. "He does this a lot".

"How many times have you met me? You need to keep count, you know, we're crossing each other's timestream, blah blah stuff", he said, fixing levers on the console.

"I never met _you_", she replied.

"Now don't be ridicolous, of course you've already met me. How many times?".

"N... no, seriously, I haven't seen you before in my entire life", she insisted.

"Yes you did! First, you didn't say "It's bigger on the inside" which means you've already been on the TARDIS, because it's the first thing everyone say when they come in for the first time, and b, no, wait, second, and second, because I remember meeting you in that lousy low-budget production studio". She frowned at him, stepping closer. "With that cyberman suit you made. Oh, the film turns into a cult classic b-movie just in a couple years, thought you should know".

Zoe was now just a few inches from him.

"Doctor?", she asked.

"Yes, I'm the Doctor", he grinned.

"Doctor", she repeated.

"What?".

"Are you going to have a different face each time I bump into you?", she asked, grinning ironically. "Is this what your race does? Switch faces?".

"No! Or, I really hope not!"

"But... how is this possible?".

"Regeneration. A Time Lord trick to avoid death. Every single cell in my body gets rewritten, I get a new face and voilà- still, could have gone worse", he winked.

"So, you're always... you?".

"Always me".

"Pinstripe... spiky hair?", she asked.

"Yeah".

"Big ears... leather jacket?"

"This is my eleventh face, do you want to list them all?".

"Oh", she let out, with a relieved sigh. "I thought I ended up in a parallel universe, when I got there".

"Where?".

"That... space station. The... Tulas. Because you looked different, and that girl with you... Ro-".

"I know. Sorry. Was a bit rude there", he cut her off. "Zoe! You brilliant girl! I knew it! The girl who doesn't know how to install the printer and figured out how to sonic a gravity manipulator in seconds! You were great!".

"Wow, must have been a _very_ long time ago for you".

"Why, you jumped straight from there to here?".

"Because you see, you were yelling at me, and having some serious trust issues, just a few minutes ago, and now you're all friendly and smiling and it's... creeping me out".

He stared at her in silence.

"Also, you look younger...".

Silence.

"...And this isn't the same TARDIS...".

"It is the same TARDIS, it's just older._ I_ am older".

"...Why should _I _trust you?".

"Oi! I am the Doctor! I saved your life twice, if I'm right, and still you don't you trust me?".

"Oi! _I_ saved your life! And Martha! And Rose!", she harshly commented. "Er, not that I want to brag".

He smiled.

"I know, I know you did. You were great. I don't know how to get you to trust me right now, I'll... just ask you to".

"I'm afraid I have no other options, do I?".

"Amy! Get me a pen!", he called out.

"Which colour?".

"Whatever you like, you'll need to use red because that note I found is written in red, but Zoe here can have any color", he replied, then turned again to Zoe. "Right. This is where you start keeping track of our meetings. Because time is not linear, and we're crossing, so if you don't remember how many times you've met me, lots of accidents can happen. Are you following?", she nodded, and he passed the pen Amy gave him to her.

"Now, for example, you jumped forward, and I'm afraid it's going to happen again. I can't tell you when or why or how, but sometimes you'll meet me and I will not trust you and act all weird, but I can't tell you everything, because you should be on the slow path, rather than jumping from spot to spot". He ran a hand through his hair, talking.

"He talks like he wasn't acting all weird _now_", Amy noted.

"That jumping, how did that happen, Doctor? Did I... teleport?".

"Now don't be silly, you can't teleport without devices, you did proper time vortex jumps, that's all different. It's just the TARDIS doesn't recognize you yet, but you'll be fine - as long as you don't touch the console. See, this sexy ship has this habit of misplacing you. Took me a while to figure out why, but I'll fix it sometime in your future". Zoe kept looking at him, as he quickly spinned and gestured around the room.

"So is it fixed now? Can you take me back to... to the _slow path_? And did I get it right, do you mean teleport exists?" _How cool is that?._

"I can't _take_ you back, I can _send_ you back. You'll have to wait a little longer to travel in the TARDIS. The rectifier is playing funny, besides, I'd better not cross my own timeline. Also, Pond and I have stuff to do, to get us here in the first place. Now, you, as I said, you'll be fine - as long as you don't touch the console".

Zoe looked at the glass panels and the bizarre machinery spread around. Absentmindedly, she marked three black dots on her inner wrist, one for each time she had met the Doctor, smiling as a realization hit her. _He checked my wrist. _

"Do I see you again soon?".

"Can't tell you... spoilers".

"Why did you check my wrist? Am I going to mark these dots everytime I-", she was cut off by him, who startled her by grabbing her hand and the pen.

"Oh, no, no, no, Amy! Well, oh, I suppose that's how it started. Always wondered...yeah, I guess that makes sense..." he blabbered on, while the girls looked at him, puzzled.

"What?".

"This is a tattoo pen, Amy, where did you find it? I haven't seen it for a while".

"Why, is it bad? It was in your pocket!".

"Zoe, I'm sorry, but it's a permanent ink. It's like you got a tattoo now, and you'll never wash it off. You just had to have this habit of scribbling things on your hand!", he protested, looking at the back of her hand, where the New York address was smudging along with the directions to the cellar where Rose was trapped on the space station.

Zoe shrugged.

"Guess that teaches me. I'll just play along with it. Why do you have a tattoo pen?".

"Why do people have ceramic figurines? Or sets of ten pillows when you only need one? The world is full of useless things, I just have a tattoo pen. Or had. It's yours, now. You'll keep it. Now, let's send you back".

He picked up a phone receiver and instructed her.

"Now, when I pick up, and it's going to take a while, in that messy lab of yours, you'll tell me to sonic your mobile with setting 73. It will resonate the frequency of the TARDIS to the right coordinates for your jump".

"Are you sure it's going to work?", Amy asked.

"Of course I am!".

"You always say that", she teased him.

"Oh, but see, Pond, I _remember_ picking up Zoe's phone, and sure, being surprised", he winked at them. Zoe was gazing at him in amusement. He locked his eyes on her, focusing.

"Doctor?".

"Let go, Richards", he scorned.

"What's with the bow-tie?", she asked.

"I like it. Bow-ties are cool", he stated, looking into her eyes. Zoe giggled, and saw Amy roll her eyes behind his back. He kept staring at her, his eyes saddening.

"Doctor?".

He turned to the monitor, passing the phone to her.

"Doctor, what? What is it?"

"Nothing".

"How did you know my numb-... oh, it's... what did you say? _Timey-wimey?", _she giggled.

"Ha! _Timey-wimey!_ Right! Smart girl".

"You're warning me about spoilers and you already let it slip that at some point I'm giving you my number, and I'll have a permanent line of black dots on my arm, and I'm going to see you again".

He broadened his smile, suddenly, turning to her.

"Does... does this mean I'll stick around?", she tentatively asked.

He walked closer to her.

"Teleport exists, Zoe. You'll try it for yourself soon enough. You, a 21st century human, you're going to see much more than the aliens and robots and monsters you kept drawing in that lab. All of time and space! You're going to see the universe, Richards! I'm so jealous, you have it all coming!", he let out, hugging her.

"Hello?" she heard in the phone.

"Doctor?" she said to the receiver.

A hesitant reply.

"It's Zoe! I need you to sonic the phone. Setting 73, I'll be right back".

"What? How do you know... Hang on, how can you be in the TARDIS?".

"Oh, technically, I'm not. At least, not yet. Won't be for a long time, apparently", she said, winking at the Doctor standing beside her. "Can I tell him I'm with you?".

"Oi! Don't tease him!" he scorned her.

"Sorry", she replied, than spoke to the phone again.

"Doctor! Setting 73-", then, putting her palm on the receiver, to the other Doctor. "I don't think he trusts me".

"Oh, he will".

She looked at him in doubt.

"It's okay, you can tell him! Sorry, just remembered", he said, then, in a whisper, "just don't tell him what I look like. I like surprises".

"Doctor, please!", she said to the receiver.

She heard chattering on the other side of the line, his deep voice, then he suddenly turned to her.

"Right. I'll sonic the phone, setting 73 should force the TARDIS to send you exactly here and now. Are you all right? A time vortex jump can seriously hurt you".

"I think I'm in good hands", she smiled to bow-tie Doctor.

"Ok, almost there". the other panted in the phone.

"Are you... running?"

"Right back to the TARDIS, Zoe! Hang on!".

"How come now he's rushing?", she asked aloud, covering the phone.

"I always trust myself", he shrugged. There was a hint of longing in his hazelnut eyes.

"Zoe? Are you still there? You ready?".

"What do I do?".

At the same time, the Doctor in the TARDIS and the past Doctor in the past TARDIS replied.

"At the count of three, place both your hands on the console".

"Guess it's goodbye?".

"More like see you later", he winked.

"See you later, then. Pleasure to meet you, Amy!".

Both Doctors counted at the same time. _Three... Two,.. One... Go!_

A golden flash of light flooded the room, and the Doctor looked at Amy, who had crouched behind him.

"You never said, Doctor", she teased him, patting his shoulder. "Has River met her?".

"Spoilers, Pond".

"She's important, though. You know her number", she giggled. "By heart!".

"No, that? Actually", he smiled, "she's on speed dial".

**I couldn't wait to write dialogue with 11! about time he met my girl, don't you think? **


	12. Dark times

**Note. do you think this chapter should be rated M?**

**12 - Dark times**

_Crap. Bumped my head again. This Doctor could have at least cought me, couldn't he? Ouch. No. I'm on the floor. _

_Ouch._

_This TARDIS is definitely darker than bowtie Doctor's TARDIS. _

_Wait. I was only gone, what, an hour? _

_This is much darker than I remember it._

_Well then, where are they? _

"Doctor?".

"Martha?".

_No. _

_I'm alone._

_Crap. _

_That liar. I'm somewhere else. Or, should I say somewhen else? _

_Time to get out. _

_It's goodbye for now, nice tricky spaceship._

Zoe gently pushed the TARDIS doors open and cast a glance at the outside.

Unluckily, she wasn't on the production studio rooftop. Again, she found herself in a dark room. _What is it with parking the TARDIS in darkness?_, she thought, walking through the empty room to the corridor, upon checking she was alone.

She couldn't exactly point out where she was, but it looked familiar. _Planet Earth? _

The air smelled clean. Better: it smelled aseptic, sterilized. Looking closer at the doors and walls she realized she was somewhere in a hospital, nowhere out of the ordinary except for the lack of the usual neon cold light. Or people. She wasn't on a degency floor, because around her each door led to analysis labs and OR, but the place was utterly empty.

She heard screaming.

The whole atmosphere was eerie, but then again, she thought, even if she didn't know him that much, the Doctor must have been there for a reason. _And it's probably not a cholesterol test._

Her doubts were cleared when she suddenly heard loud noises and a gunshot, followed by a disappointed voice. It wasn't anywhere near her, but Zoe could easily recognize the thick northern accent.

"What did you do that for? It was scared!", and then, saddened, he repeated, "It was scared".

British soldiers were scattered around the corridor, and they didn't seem to be on the Doctor's side. She thought best to stay hidden for a while, and slid into a lab, her back rested on a wall, slowly sliding to the floor until she was sitting.

_What a day_, she thought.

She realized she didn't take any time to collect her thoughts since the shower she had taken, what seemed like days before, in the theatres. Back then, her mind had only wondered about the strange Doctor who seemed concerned with the filming. She didn't see it coming, any of it. The weapons actually working as weapons, the ship bigger on the inside, the space station, the time-jumping. She had already been through an exhausting day at work, and the effect of whatever the Tula steward who sacrificed himself had given her was wearing off.

Zoe felt honestly tired, and her alert loosened for a moment. She was half asleep when she heard someone talking, again.

"...it's alien. Aliens are faking aliens. But why would they do that...?". A young female voice came from a lab near her, but stopped mid-sentence, as if she wanted to ask more.

"Doctor?", Zoe heard her call.

_Shit._

The sound she heard was the same loud, whirring noise she heard before in the TARDIS, with Amy, when the ship was bumping and rocking trying to land. Suddenly awaken, Zoe started running, careless if the soldiers and the girl spotted her, to where the TARDIS was, and she saw it, flashing and disappearing in front of her eyes.

A sad smile in imagining that was the way the TARDIS traveled, disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, cornered her lips despite the sensation of uncertainty she felt growing in her chest.

_Shit shit shit._

_Zoe Richards, you useless idiot. You just had to go and test your luck again. As if you didn't already risk your life an enough number of times for a day. What makes you think you're on Earth? Now you're stuck._

Fear and despair had not been with her for a long time, and she was determined not to let them overcome her. She was fine now, she had been fine for ages. And she was strong. Being held at gunpoint by aliens was a new, but she had been through some serious shit in her life, and the one thing she had learned was survival.

Besides, she had heard the girl talk about aliens. Chances were the Doctor was still there, or would be. Future Doctor had been adamant about them meeting again. Still, she couldn't just wait around for a time traveller to come back in the proverbial five minutes when it could be five years, or more, to her.

She focused on remembering what her pattern had always been in similar circumnstances. Of course, finding herself stuck _somewhen_ unknown had never happened to her before, but as for unknown situations, she had the basis covered. Drunken black-out. Passed out from drugs. Beaten to unconsciousness. Waking up dazed in strangers' beds, sofas, room floors, strained to an hospital bed, locked up in jail, tied to a chair in a basement, that awful time. She always found a way out when she could. A few questions to herself had always led her where she needed to be.

_Where am I? How long has it been? What do I need to do? How can I do it?_

She just needed to squeeze in another question - When _am I? _

First, she decided that she needed to get out of the hospital and find out where she was. Carefully, she sneaked out of the room where the TARDIS had vanished just minutes earlier and looked around. The halls were empty, and the soldiers were in sight.

From a service stairwell, she realized she was in the basement, and walked two floors upsairs to reach ground level. She could hear noise and clatter, but the hall was almost empty. Just a few staff members seemed to be left on the job, and soldiers were guarding the exit. Hidden at the corner, she could see through the glass panels of the hall that the loud voices she heard were coming from a large crowd gathered outside the hospital.

The emergency exit on the stairs was locked, the excuse written on a printed A4 sheet precariously hanging on it - due to current emergency protocol every staff member is kindly invited to use the main exit - which didn't really serve its purpose, she thought.

Again, she felt the place was familiar, but couldn't remember if she had in fact been there before.

The crowd outside became suddenly louder, and everyone inside moved to the exit to watch what was happening. Although curious herself, Zoe kept focus on her priorities and sneaked into the reception, behind the counter. The computer was on, a software window open for patient registration, the date on the corner of the monitor put her in March 2006.

_Ok, so I'm in the past. Not that much, really. This is okay, you can survive through 2006. Again._

Not that 2006 had been a great year for her, she thought, shivering. Keeping an eye on the nurses and reception staff, she clicked to reduce the page and take a look at the desktop.

Albion Hospital.

_This is not good._

Of course, out of _all of time and space_, that funny ship had to pick bloody Albion Hospital in London. In 2006. _Of all the places I lived in the last six years, the TARDIS had to send me to London when there's original me around_. Do her best to avoid her past self seemed only logical, and the Doctor had mentioned it was better not to cross one's own timeline. Also, she had been working with sci-fi geeks long enough to know every canon supported the idea that anyone meeting a future version of himself could create a paradox. Better not test this theories without the Doctor, she thought.

_Why?_

She needed to get out of the hospital and find him, as he was her only option to jump back to her correct present. Actually finding a way out of the building could be easy, then what?

Would Rose Tyler be in the picture by then? She typed her name and googled it. Much to her surprise, the page that popped up was a desperate plead to find her, as she had been missing for an entire year. Vanished from Earth. _Something tells me Rose has already met the Doctor._ She tried, unsuccesfully, to call the number on the poster, but it was always busy, and at her fifth attempt she decided it was best to simply go there. Powell Estates.

_Good thing your legs are probably broken and as soon as the effect of whatever-it-was wears off you're going to be screaming in pain, because il looks like you need to walk all the way to outer London._

She checked her pockets: all she had was the tattoo pen the Doctor gave her. They were running to the rooftop so fast she didn't think about grabbing her purse, or her jacket. She needed money. What if she didn't find the Doctor? She couldn't ask for help in her usual places, because she didn't exactly remember where she was that very same day, and her round of friends those days weren't exactly helping. She only had one option, and not one that she was proud of.

_Back to the old days, then_, she thought, frustrated.

She still couldn't understand what was drawing her to the Doctor. _Bow-tie_ had been genuinely friendly, but the other two didn't seem too keen on her presence. The TARDIS was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and the idea of travelling all of time and space was better than anything she had on planet Earth. Alas, the machine was apparently responsible for scattering her randomly through space and time. But it wasn't just that she felt curious about the Doctor, his ship and him being an alien.

She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something had forced her to try and make the best impression to him, as if she needed to prove herself to him. She was the first to be surprised, she had been playing superficial and shy for such a long time. She didn't trust anyone, and she had _just simply_ walked into a spaceship following a mysterious alien.

_You can do this. It's not like the last time. Well technically it's still about survival, but now you're aware you really should not be doing this._

She remembered the floor and the room, and easily walked upstairs, unnoticed, to a specific storage room. No one was around, she reckoned everyone was at ground floor.

With a quick movement, she broke the cabinet glass, picked up a plastic bag and started reaching for the medicine boxes, her hand trembling less than expected. She was out and clean, but she remembered all the right names and codes. She selected a few drugs and filled the plastic bag.

She only noticed the sign on the side of the door as she was about to make her way to the emergency stairs. The infamous Junkies Black List. It was in the drug storage, of course, so any nurse or doctor walking in could check the faces before giving drugs to any of those faces with no names, fake IDs and dubious history. In the lower part of the poster, some faces were circled in red, with indication to alert the police as soon as possible.

And there she saw her own photo, warning _bloody Albion Hospital_ to immediately call the coppers if anyone saw Zoe Richards.

The most disturbing thing about the photo was that, amongst all her makeovers and style changes, the face in the picture was identical to her four-years-later self. She hadn't had long hair for a long time, and there was the photo, with her with long hair. She had taken off all her piercings, and the picture didn't show them. She lost the habit of using make up, and the face in the picture was clean. _The TARDIS is punishing me for something. That machine really has a dark sense of humour._

Ironically, now Zoe knew exactly what to do. She had already done it in the past.

She rushed to the emergency stairs and checked from the glass panel. Sliding into the room immediately next in the corridor, where a patient was asleep, she managed to open the window ajar enough to let her through. She remembered doing that during a forced degency. The stairwell was not that far, but it needed a little leap to reach it, and the ground was two floors down. _You did this high, you can do it now that your body actually responds to your brains. Come on_, she cheered herself. Still, it was damn scary, and landing on her feet was a surprise.

The man she was looking for lived not far from the hospital, in a posh loft with scandinavian design furniture. She had her share of tension and misunderstandings with him, but he was a practical man of business, didn't ask questions, and only had good stuff.

She rang the bell. Knowingly, she lifted her t-shirt and turned around for the entry videophone cam, to show she didn't have microphones or any other tricks. The door buzzed open.

"Always lovely to see you, my little hunter. Sadly, I'm out of gear".

"It's your lucky day", she smiled at the handsome man with the expensive Italian three-piece suit. "I'm here to sell".

He laughed.

"_You?_ Selling? The telly is right, then. The end of the world must be coming".

She opened the plastic bag and shoved its contents on the crystal coffee table.

"Look, I just left Albion Hospital".

"Looks like you did, indeed", he acknowledged, suddenly interested in the pills.

She knew he was an expert and would recognize them immediately, and her choice had been guided by the same expertise in the subject matter.

"See, girl, you're putting me in a difficult position. I want to trust you, but something tells me you're in trouble again, correct me if I'm wrong".

He sat on the sofa.

Zoe sighed.

"Listen-"

"No, you listen. You have a nasty habit of dragging your troubles around to anyone you meet, and you should already be grateful that I didn't take actions that last time", he said, playing with the pills scattered on the table and displaying them in order.

She sighed.

"You know it wasn't my fault", she said, hoping that had already happened.

"I know, but still, you were too involved. Cleaning up after your friends is not my job and you know that".

She rolled her eyes to the industrial ceiling.

"I only need money, honestly. Just give me a few quids. That's all I'm asking".

He kept moving the pills with his fingers, mentally counting, then let out an ironic giggle.

"Fine".

He opened a drawer and picked up a 50 pounds note and handed it to her.

"Can I use the loo for a sec?"

"You said that was all".

"Yeah, I know what I said, gee, thanks". Rolling her eyes, she pleaded.

"Leave the door open", he instructed her.

He followed her to the bathroom and stood outside, leaning on the doorframe as she looked around.

"Shaver?", she asked.

He pointed to a drawer, giggling, studying her. She pulled the shaver out and leaned on the marble, close to the mirror. In less than five minutes, under his inquisitive eyes, she trimmed her hair short on the sides, bangs on her forehead.

"You're on the run again", he commented.

"No, I just felt a sudden urge to change my looks, honey", she ironically replied, cutting her long upper hair shorter. She let the water run to clean the sink and felt his soft, delicate hand on the back of her neck, caressing her gently.

He opened his mouth to speak, and she cut him off.

"Let me borrow a jumper, will ya?".

"Now you're taking advantage", he scorned her with a grin, but left her waiting in the lounge, returning from his bedroom with a Primark black hoodie.

"We could be friends, you know", he said, smiling charmingly. "If only you were cleaner".

As any other time she had met him, she winked and replied.

"I'll be clean someday, -", she was about to say _Paul_, and remembered that back in 2006 she didn't know his name yet. "...I'll be clean someday", she repeated, smiling gently.

"Yeah, you keep saying that".

Leaving the flat to step into the darkness of London, the whole city in red alert, she couldn't help but think back at him and at the time they actually would spend as friends much later, and how many times he would point out he had been wise in not lending her anything expensive as she acted like she never borrowed any jumper. She laughed at the thought he was going to see her just in a few days, probably, and although she would be a junkie and a mess, good times were ahead, and she would get better, and even someone as Paul, who she always thought of as selfish and shallow, would see in her something else beyond a bad case of addiction, and value her as a person and not just as business. It felt funny, to know so much of someone else's future, but she had resisted the urge to say anything, and wondered if that was what the Doctor felt when he eagerly anticipated a future of adventures to her.

**Now you didn't actually believe the phone trick would work just fine, did ya? Nope. Not much luck for our girl... Hope you all liked this bit of Zoe's past, let me know if you think I should change the rating. Also thanks to_ the Elo_ for writing the first review, hoping more will follow! **


	13. Domestics

**This is a little long, I'm sorry but I didn't want to split it further. I started this as a filler chapter to get another adventure and ended up being a great excuse to find out some more about Zoe... hope you like it. Also I've changed the cover image, it's very small but after this you might get a hint of how Zoe looks like (sorry auditions are closed, yes she's been cast) :) enjoy!**

**13 - Domestics**

She tucked herself in the black hoodie. Her next stop was the off-licence minimarket across the street, where the indian owner almost kicked her out for checking the London A-Z without buying it. She instead bought a pocket mirror, a medical instant ice bag, a sewing kit and several silver earrings.

It took her all the three-zones bus ride to the Powell Estate to painfully pass a needle through her skin and place all the piercings back. Everyone she met was focused talking about the spaceship hitting Big Ben and nobody paid too much attention to her, which she was only grateful for.

She spotted the blue box as soon as she got off the bus. _There you are, my tricky friend_. A loud noise put her in alert, and turning her head up she saw helicopters and searchlights around. _Oh, no, no, no, no._

Zoe ran in the direction of the TARDIS and only had time to see the Doctor walking out with Rose and a lad she didn't recognize, when the searchlights pointed at them.

She screamed.

"Doctor! Rose!".

They heard her and turned around, searching for where her voice came from, but the voice from the helicopter unmistakeably demanded their attention.

"Do not move!", a loudspeaker ordered.

Zoe stood still where she was, catching a glimpse of a blonde woman running through the courtyard, towards the TARDIS, a desperate look on her face. "No!", she yelled.

"Raise your hands above your head! You are under arrest!" the loudspeaker instructed.

Zoe saw the Doctor smile gleefully. "Take me to your leader!" he cheered.

They were quickly pushed into a posh car and drove off, leaving the boy and the woman behind, astonished.

The woman approached Zoe.

"Who are you then? I heard you calling them! Do you know this Doctor fella?".

"I... I just need his help", Zoe replied. "What happened?".

"They took her! What do I do?". Zoe looked at the woman and guessed.

"Jackie?". The woman turned to look at her, again.

"How do you know my name?".

"I'm Zoe. Rose told me about you. You're her mum, right?", Zoe lied, but the woman nodded. "Don't worry. Rose is going to be fine".

_What are you talking about? You don't know for sure. You're an idiot, Zoe._

"Look, why don't you just make a cuppa and I'll help you talk to the coppers, okay?". She slowly turned to the flats.

"Thank you, sweetheart", she said, sadly.

They went back to Jackie's flat, where three constables followed them. One of them, who introduced himself as officer Strickland, explained that Rose and the Doctor were not under arrest, they were instead heading to Downing Street as they could be in a position to help the country. That car _did_ seem a little too posh, Zoe thought. Oddly, Strickland wanted to talk to Jackie alone, and sent off his partners. Zoe went into the kitchen to make the tea. She felt the officer was a little too nervously concerned as to how Rose met the Doctor.

Jackie explained the little she knew, but even Zoe thought that wasn't an easy answer. What if the coppers asked her about how _she_ met the Doctor? _I was building aliens for filming and they turned out to be real aliens_?

"It was bigger on the inside, I dunno. What do I know about spaceships?" Jackie said, and Zoe called her into the kitchen, because she couldn't find the kettle.

They heard the officer speak from the living room, and Zoe saw him peek from the hatch.

"That's what worries me. You see, this man is classified as "trouble". Which means that anyone associated with him IS trouble. And that's my job, eliminating trouble".

That didn't make any sense. Didn't they just said they were being escorted to Downing Street to help the country? Before Zoe could form a proper suspicion, a flickering blue light started filling the kitchen.

"Jackie, be careful", Zoe said, tentatively walking to the kitchen door, as she looked at the light approaching them.

The alien advanced on them, slowly. Zoe kept her calm despite Jackie's shocked screams, but she didn't know what to do. The kettle wasn't even warm, and the alien was so big in size that no knife in that kitchen seemed big enough, in comparison. She grabbed a large cutting board and shielded Jackie, as the alien came closer, raising his claw.

They both backed against the counter, sinking, and Jackie let out a terrified scream, and Zoe closed her eyes, the cutting board above her head, prepared to be seriously hurt. _I'll see the Doctor again. I don't die here. But this is going to be painful, _she confided.

But instead of being hit, the alien screamed in pain as a blue shock of electricity enveloped him. He didn't seem to like it. Paralized, the alien was all the same filling the door frame, and Zoe and Jackie were still trapped.

"Jackie!"

Someone called from the living room. Suddenly, something hit the alien on the back and he collapsed to the floor. Zoe saw the boy from before smashing the chair, and prompted up, taking Jackie's arm. "Let's go, Jackie - Thanks!", she said. The boy took a picture of the alien on his phone.

"Who are you?", he asked, leading them to his flat.

"Friends of Rose", Jackie said. "Zoe, this is Mickey, Rose's boyfriend".

"Boyfriend?", the question popped out of her lips, before she could stop herself from commenting. _Boyfriend? But the Doctor...?_

"She didn't even mention me, did she? An year, she was gone, and she never even-", he complained.

"I'm Zoe", she cut him off.

Jackie was still in shock and started rummaging through Mickey's cabinets as soon as they entered the flat. She wanted to call someone for help, but Mickey wasn't sure.

"Who do we trust? For all we know, they've all got big bog monsters inside of them. I mean, this is what he does, Jacks, that Doctor bloke. Everywhere he goes, death and destruction, and he's got Rose in the middle of it".

"Has he got a great big green thing inside him, then?" Jackie asked.

"No he doesn't", Zoe pointed out. "You said he used to work with this UNIT, he must know something about this".

"You're right", Mickey agreed. "Like it or not, he's the only person to know how to fight these things".

Jackie started crying. "I thought I was going to die!".

Mickey awkwardly tried to reassure her.

"Come on, yeah? If anyone's going to cry, it's going to be me. Now, you're safe in my flat, Jacks. No one's going To look for you here, especially since you hate me so much".

"You saved my life. God, that's embarrassing".

"You're telling me".

Zoe was feeling uncomfortable, she was used to emotional breakdowns, but families were a mistery to her. She never really had a family, so whenever someone around her had family issues, she never knew what to say or do, always feeling inappropriate.

Jackie kept on.

"He wanted me dead. And he's still out there, Mickey. That policeman. That thing".

"Right", Zoe said. "Can you send that picture to Rose? Maybe they know how to stop them", she suggested.

"Already done", Mickey smiled.

Then they called, and the Doctor instructed Mickey to hack into the UNIT website. Zoe looked in curiosity at the website and what it contained, and wondered if they had anything to do with the Torchwood lot that came in to steal her drawings from time to time.

Judging by Mickey's answers, she felt the electricity between him and the Doctor, and felt poorly about the lad. After all, he had been brave enough to rescue them, and he was now hacking into national security from his home computer.

The Doctor couldn't figure out why the Slitheen, that was their name, hit Big Ben. Zoe and Mickey listened to his questions until Jackie addressed him. She was honestly concerned about Rose, and Zoe felt a shiver when she heard her ask the Doctor if he could guarantee for Rose's safety. Jackie didn't seem to get an answer, and Zoe realized that the Doctor could never guarantee something like that.

She didn't know him that well, but she instinctively knew he would do anything to save anyone, but he couldn't answer Jackie's question.

Mickey took the phone back, following the Doctor's orders to analyze a signal coming from the invaders' ship.

Then the doorbell rang. Mickey and Zoe were focusing on the computer screen, where the message kept repeating on a loop. They were too distracted to be suspicious about someone ringing at three o'clock in the morning, but Jackie's screams were unmistakeable.

"They've found us!"

"Get out, just get out!", Rose was screaming from the phone.

The alien was by the front door. They couldn't get out, and Jackie's instinct of slamming the door in his face only bought them a little time, as the blue light started flickering through the door.

The three of them backed into the flat, looking at the door about to be splintered.

"It's getting in!", Mickey worriedly said.

Zoe could faintly hear the Doctor, Rose and someone else from the phone, trying to figure out how to stop the alien, until they realized what planet they were from.

"Oh, yeah, great, we could write them a letter...", Mickey sarcastically commented, as the name of the planet didn't give him a clue as to how to stop him.

Mickey led them into the kitchen, and once inside, Zoe quickly tried to barricade the door.

The Doctor and Rose screamed to ask Mickey if there was any vinegar.

"How should I know?"

Jackie took control of the vinegar gathering, while Rose gave her directions.

Luckily, the kitchen didn't suffer from lack of vinegar: gherkins, pickled onions and pickled eggs quickly ended in a jug. Zoe had a weird feeling in thinking about Mickey eating all that gross stuff and heard the Doctor sarcastically ask Rose how could she kiss him.

The Slitheen broke in, and Jackie tossed the contens of the jar to his face. The alien farted and then exploded, redecorating the kitchen in green goo.

Relieved, Zoe cleaned her face and went into the living room. Mickey's PC was still on the UNIT website, and the telly was still on the news.

They listened as the man on tv pleaded the United States to give them the access codes to nuclear weapons, to have Britain defend itself against the invasion. They were still listening to Rose and the Doctor in Downing Street, and, as the Doctor said, there was no alien threat. Not a single ship invading. It took him a minute to figure out the Slitheen aliens were trying to start world war three and have the planet destroyed by nukes. The message Mickey found on the UNIT page was_ advertisement_.

"I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you".

Zoe felt strangely warm in hearing the Doctor menacing the head of the Slitheen. An unusual feeling of pride was running through her, even if the alien didn't seem so impressed.

"What, you? Trapped in your box?".

"Yes", Zoe heard his angry tone answer, "Me".

As they waited for an emergency UN meeting to decide wheter to release the codes or not, Mickey tried every emergency number on the page, trying to warn someone about the false threats. Jackie had been silent for a while, then she spoke again.

"All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do".

The Doctor didn't answer. Zoe imagined him lost in his thoughts.

Rose asked Mickey if he'd had any luck, and sighed when he reported he was only getting voicemails.

"Voicemail dooms us all", Zoe heard the other person with them comment. _Where did I hear this voice before?_

Rose complained.

"If we could just get out of here...".

Then the Doctor spoke, and the atmosphere in Mickey's tiny living room changed suddenly. His tone was serious and concerned, more than Zoe had ever heard him. And he had been pretty angry and resolute, with her.

"There's a way out".

"What?", Rose blurted, bewildered.

"Theres always been a way out".

"Then why don't we use it?", she asked, uncaring of his dramatic tone.

"Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe".

_Again, this rush of adrenaline and pride_. She looked at Jackie, the fierce mother, who was panicking and on the edge of tears, again.

"Don't you dare! Whatever it is, don't you dare!", she screamed.

"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies", he sadly replied. Zoe had lived through 2006 without much awareness of the world, and she couldn't remember any spaceship crashing into the Thames, but she was pretty sure world war three didn't happen. She had the feeling the Doctor would sort this out. She was eager to speak, to just tell them _it's going to be okay, everything will be fine, Rose makes it out alive, I know._

"Do it", Rose said.

Again, Zoe felt touched. Rose was what- _twenty? nineteen?_, and she didn't hesitate to risk her life to let the Doctor try and save the world. She just put her life into his hands. Even the Doctor seemed to have her same feeling, as he tried to reason with her.

"You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?".

"Yeah".

Jackie was now really desperate.

"Please, Doctor, please! She's my daughter! She's just a kid!"

"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart. It's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will".

"Then what are you waiting for?", Rose, determined, replied.

"I could save the world but lose you", he said, sadly.

Zoe felt a shiver on her spine. She only met them both once, but the sad smile he gave Zoe when she asked about her at Canary Wharf, his quick change of subject when she asked if she had ended in a parallel universe with them... she was sure the feelings were already there, in that cabinet in Downing Street.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine". The familiar voice said.

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie hastily asked.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people". Zoe finally put a face and the name to the voice. _Harriet Jones! We're on the phone with the bloody Prime Minister!_ "And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it".

The Doctor started instructing Mickey.

"How do we get out?", Rose asked.

"We don't. We stay here".

Jackie was breaking down, but Zoe had remembered, now. Somehow, Rose would definitely make it out of there alive. Canary Wharf was almost two years later. She was still wondering what they were doing, but she forced herself not to tell Jackie to calm down because she was a time traveller from their future and she knew all would end just fine.

"I could stop you", Jackie said to Mickey, coldly. He had hacked into the Royal Navy and he was about to launch a missile on Downing Street.

"Do it, then", he challenged Jackie, who stood still, her emotions taking over.

"You ready for this?", the Doctor asked from the phone.

"Yeah", Mickey replied.

"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands". She was right: the Doctor didn't like Mickey. "Fire", he ordered. Mickey clicked.

Jackie was broken. "Oh, my God", she let out.

They listened as Rose took the decision to try and save themselves into a small cupboard, as they say to do when there are earthquakes. _Smart girl_, Zoe thought. _You're the one that keeps the three of you alive, then_. Mickey checked the missile path.

"Counter defence five five six", he alerted the Doctor.

"Stop them intercepting it", he ordered, as Mickey started doing exactly what told.

"I'm doing it now".

"Good boy".

"Five five six neutralised".

They heard a click, and the phone went silent. They were going into the cupboard.

They turned to the tv, where the camera were showing the soldiers rushing outside n.10, while the missile tore the place down.

As soon as the smoke cleared and Zoe spotted Harriet Jones approaching the reporter, she silently headed outside the flat. She heard Mickey and Jackie cheering and celebrating, but she knew she didn't belong there.

_Family_, she thought.

"Where's Zoe?", she heard Jackie ask, but she still couldn't figure out if the Doctor and Rose had already met her, and thought best to leave unnoticed before they came back.

"Dunno, she was just here..." Mickey said, distracted, still happily clapping at the tv.

Jackie followed her out, but she had already hidden in the staircase.

Tucking her hood up, she finally walked to the TARDIS, still confused about what to do when the Doctor would be back. She hoped he could recognize her.

_Here we are, funny ship._

She paced around the box, gently caressed the blue wooden panels, smiling. The right side had been vandalized with a graffiti that spelled _Bad Wolf_. Curious, she thought, that was the same name as the conspiracy of the Tulas back on that space station.

"I don't care if you toss me around space and time, I still like you". She said, aloud, feeling silly.

Then a thought occurred to her. Nobody had the decency of explaining the logic of time travel, the _timey-wimey _stuff, as the Doctor had said, but somehow the TARDIS had managed to call her present Doctor. Somewhere, somewhen, spiky-hair-pinstripe-suit Doctor was still pointing his sonic at her mobile.

_It's worth a try_, she thought.

She opened the white panel and picked up the fake police phone. She thought she could hear the line signal, although the phone was unconnected. She was a professional, after all, and had no trouble recognizing a prop. How could it be working? _That gun was a prop, and it killed the cyberman._

She spotted Rose and the Doctor appearing from the side of the courtyard.

"Chloe?", he said when he saw her, standing by the TARDIS. He started speeding up, calling at her. "What are you doing here?".

_This wrong name thing is getting boring. But if he doesn't remember in 2008 or later, I won't get it into his mind now._

Yet the expression on his face was not just bothered, it was plain angry. _Mad_ angry, for all intensive purposes. _Uh-oh. _

Zoe tried her luck, and dialed her own mobile number. _It shouldn't be working. It's a prop. But there's a line signal. _

She saw the Doctor come closer to her, and Rose following by, with a confused expression, and had only the time to say "Hi there, good job". She waved a kiss to them both and felt the burst of golden light enveloping her.

In an instant, as she lost balance, she felt the strong arms of the skinny Doctor with spiky hair and the pinstripe suit hold her firmly, grabbing her in his lap, and pulling her quickly away from the console.

He spinned her around and looked into her eyes, the distance between their bodies unwillingly closed. She was about to ask about the double heartbeat she felt in his chest, when his eyes widened in surprise.

"Now what the hell happened to your hair?", he asked.

**Yay! Finally back with 10!**


	14. The view from the bridge

**A/N this is a bit long... but finally Zoe gets back to 10 :) again there are mentions of Zoe's past. Enjoy!**

**14 - The view from the bridge**

"I made it! I can't believe it!"

Zoe twirled and threw her arms around the Doctor's collar, much to his surprise. Martha was smiling from the other side of the console.

"What happened to you?", she asked, relieved that her new friend was back, although she felt a sting at seeing them hug.

"...And to your hair, no, seriously", the Doctor added, while gently, but uneasily, pushing away from her hug.

"Oh, I had a bit of a... how can I say? _detour_".

"To where?". Martha was genuinely curious, but the Doctor had an unreadable expression, and all Zoe could tell was that he was concerned.

"The right question would be... to _when_. But I'm afraid I can't answer".

"But how?", Martha again asked.

"Wish I knew. Just know I _jumped_, as you said", Zoe turned to the Doctor, still silent, "-or, well, will say- a couple times, to the TARDIS somewhen else, before _someone finally told me not to touch the freaking console_". She stressed the last words as to scold him, but she was indeed relieved that she made it back to her own present, although not sure if she could still call it that. "Apparently she likes to displace me".

"_She_?", Martha asked.

"The TARDIS. Only way I can travel in the TARDIS is if I don't touch the console. Yeah, I know, sounds crazy".

In hearing her, the Doctor locked his eyes on the green column at the center of the console, his gaze wondering what the TARDIS console had to do with her.

"By the way, just so you know, pointing the sonic at my phone didn't exactly bring me here. Had another diversion first", she pointed out.

The Doctor was still lost in his thoughts, but turned to look at her, studying her defying face. Her new punkish look reminded him much more of Chloe, and the idea wasn't exactly comforting to him. However, with a twist on his tiptoes, he put on a smile and happily started chattering.

"Okay then! You're back now, aren't you? So, next stop, Brooklyn, New York! You just stay there and hold on to the railing, just don't touch the console, okay? It's been a while since I've been across the pond, as you say, well, of course, in this century, right Martha? What were the odds? Daleks first, now cybermen! Well, let's sort out this cybermen business-", he rambled, then turned serious to Zoe "but then, Miss, you and I will have a serious chat, don't think you can get away so easily".

"I was hoping I could finally _stay_, Doctor. No wish to get away, trust me", she replied, ironic, looking straight into his eyes.

He held her gaze, before a forced smile came to his lips as he turned to Martha.

"Ready?".

"Always!", she cheered, as she instinctly took her spot at the console and placed her hands on buttons and levers. "You'll like this bit, Zoe".

As if dancing, the Doctor and Martha started running around, pulling levers and pushing buttons, and the ship started rocking and moving. Zoe recognized the sound of the TARDIS disappearance, and held onto the railing for dear life as the two pilots stumbled across the whole room, adjusting the controls. The Doctor's arms and legs were stretched onto the console desk as he used both his hands and a foot to navigate the ship.

_Sure as hell this ship is designed to have at least a couple more drivers_, she thought, looking at the two of them frantically holding to handles and levers as the ship seemed to bounce.

Again, the whirring sound filled the room, and the ship eased into stillness.

"There we are! Brooklyn! Easy!", the Doctor cheered at the landing.

Martha ran to the doors, and stopped before them, turning to Zoe.

"You want to do this? I mean, it's Earth, but still, it's always... something...", she said, her excitement still high as the first time she had travelled in the amazing gallifreyan ship.

"Can I?", Zoe asked the Doctor.

He nodded, calm, and she happily ran to Martha.

"Ready?", she asked.

"Ready!". She took a deep breath and opened the doors.

The familiar Manhattan skyline was welcoming her to New York. A rush of adrenaline came to her, as she pushed back thoughts about the past. She took her step outside, amazed at how the TARDIS brought them on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in such short time. She let her lungs open to the rogue scent of the river, and closed her eyes to the bright American morning. She turned to the Doctor, who was grinning against his own doubts. Zoe's reaction at the landscape reminded him of a past companion, of the genuine and contagious excitement she spread everytime her feet touched new soil, her lungs breathed new air, just outside the blue doors.

Martha followed her to the edge of the water, smiling and taking in the view.

"Where do we go, Doctor? Why didn't we land in Manhattan?", Martha asked, tucking in her jacket against the breeze.

He looked around.

"If there's alien activity there, I don't want the TARDIS too close".

"That never stopped you before".

"Naaah, you're right, it's just I love the view from the bridge", he giggled.

She pouted, not looking forward to the long walk across the famous Brooklyn bridge.

"I love walking in the morning, don't you Martha? What about you Zoe? Fancy a panoramic walk?", he smiled.

"This way, come on!", Zoe invited them. She felt amazed and relaxed, finally. The Doctor, this Doctor with his spiky hair and the blue pinstipe suit, was the one who actually invited her, and although she could still sense he might have second thoughts, the ease at not forcing her presence upon him and his companion was slowly taking over the fear and weariness of the earlier events.

"How do you know?", Martha asked. The Doctor was glad that she was curious and inquisitive, as he thought his way of questioning her might too easily slip into a little aggressive. He chose to stay silent and follow the conversation between his companion and the mistery girl.

"I used to live here, a while ago. I loved Brooklyn", she said, looking around to catch in the view.

"New York! Quite the traveller, you were, ah?".

"I've... been around, yes", she replied, toning down a bit.

"I've never travelled much before meeting the Doctor", Martha said, with a hint of regret, turning to look at his thoughtful expression.

"It wasn't really much of a choice, for me", Zoe muttered, unheard from her.

They walked all the way to the other side of the bridge, mostly silent. When they finally reached the neighborhood where the special effect studio was, the landscape changed into a contemporary, state of the art business district. It was still early in the morning, and there wasn't a lot of people wandering through the tall glass building.

The Doctor shivered in remembering what the Lumic corporation was in the parallel universe where the Tylers were trapped, but soon relaxed after learning the SFX studio was only renting office space in one of the less fancy buildings on the area, and they had been there for fifteen years before the big guys bought the land to turn it into their biggest developement. The Lumic corporation in this universe was a big shark in the real estate business, but had nothing to do with communications, genetic research or alien threats - the district was merely a successful business area, where banks, PR companies, newspapers and insurance companies rented - at a very high price - posh offices with glass continuous windows, hanging gardens and a view on the river.

The three of them walked into the ground floor, where the Doctor sonicked the door to get into the office, as the place was still empty, much to his surprise.

"Don't these people have a business here?", he asked.

"It's mostly graphic designers, Doctor. They put an effort in just actually getting here - they could do the same job from their own home", Zoe answered. "In their jim-jams, probably", she added.

"You humans never cease to surprise me", he mumbled, and walked in.

Martha started looking for the light switch, and the office was just a room full of computer desks. Along one of the walls was a tripod facing a green curtain screen and a cupboard crammed with props of any sort. A tall wooden box was on the side, and the address matched the production studio in London they came from.

As Martha turned the lights on, Zoe ran to the box and started unpacking the pieces of the cyberman.

"Hello, fella!", she cheered at the metallic head.

The Doctor frowned and sighed at her side.

"Oi! Just so you know, before they turned into maniac killing aliens, I happened to put a lot of effort into this beauties!", she commented, thinking back.

"Let me see", he said, pulling the head from her hands, twisting it to find a switch or a lock to open it.

Martha turned on a computer and started looking for the software that supposedly animated the robots, while the Doctor was struggling with the head.

"Give me that", Zoe said, taking the head back from him. "There's a clasp right there", she explained, opening the head in half as if to wear it, then gently handled it to the Doctor.

"How did you start doing this job?", he asked Zoe, while pulling cables and chips from a receiver inside the speaker on the head.

She opened her lips to speak, but took a pause, carefully choosing the words.

"You mean this cybermen film? It... just sort of happened", she finally said.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and over his face, as if washing away some worry.

"Can't you ever answer a question straight?", he scorned.

She turned to him, startled.

"Seriously? Look who's talking", she commented, mumbling.

He stopped working with his sonic, and his face was deadly serious.

She sighed.

"I... It was...", she started, obviously struggling with the speech. "Let's just say someone helped me get back on track and...helped me find a career where I could...".

He was still looking straight at her, decided to wait for a satisfying answer before resuming his work.

She breathed loudly and finally spilled it out.

"I used to spend a lot of time just drawing and making things, so my counsellor thought it could be good and rewarding for me to go back to work as a props maker".

"When was it? When you lived in New York?"

"No, later".

"Australia?"

She seemed surprised that he remembered her mentioning Australia at all, and shook her head.

"No, it was..."

"Berlin? Barcelona? Marrakesh?"

_Uh, that's creepy_, she thought. _How does he know..._

"Dublin? Los Angeles? Rome? Istanbul? I had to look through your laptop, you know. You've been quite the traveller, well, in the past ten years at least, except for 2006, but still. Some nasty pictures you have in that, Miss Richards! How's South Africa? I never end up there, and I always forget to send the TARDIS to South Africa, I'll have to put a sticky note on the navigator. _Let's go to South Africa_. What happened in 2006? Were you in Lo-"

"_Rehab_", she interrupted him. "I was in and out of rehab, in 2006. _There_ my counsellor pointed me to props making. I was in rehab for drug abuse, I'm clean now, been clean ever since, and _I don't really like to talk about it_", she said, abruptly.

"Yes, but _back_? You came _back to work_? How did you start at first?" He insisted.

Martha cleared her throat from the computer desk.

"You're supposed to say you're sorry", she suggested, whispering.

"Right. Sorry you went to rehab, but what do you mean _back to work_?".

She shook her head again, still unused to the Doctor's mixed reactions to human nature. Sometimes she reckoned him to be the most human person she had ever met, in terms of judgement, respect and emotions, and at the same time he was indeed an alien, inevitably unaware of the feelings some situations triggered.

"Well", she returned to her usual ironic voice, "Like everyone does, Doctor, I went to a specific school, graduated, and started working".

"What? Which school?".

"Sure you're not British?", she joked. "It was...an academy of stage arts of something! Why are you so interested?".

"Just,.. because", he dropped the subject. "There's something unsettling about you, and I...", he added, now he was the one weighing words. "I'm not sure if I should trust you".

"You made that quite clear, Doctor", she said, sadly, holding his straight, unreadable gaze. "Although you never said why".

He seemed lost at her expression, as unreadable to him as his was to her. His face was so close to her that their hair was almost touching. He was about to speak, still unsure of what to answer, when Martha called.

"I think I found it, Doctor! Take a look!".

He kept the cyberman helmet with him and paced quickly to her, as she kept typing.

"It must be this file, but I can't seem to open it".

He turned the head upside down and looked at the code on the computer, then sonicked the receiver again and looked at the screwdriver. He then started messing with the keyboard, and the screen flashed blank. The small device flickered a few times in blue light and shocked the Doctor's hands with electricity.

"Ouch, nasty thing!", he said, tossing the head behind his back, letting it fall to the ground. "Ok, our job here is done", he added, restless, sprinting on his tip toes. "Let's go".

Martha looked at him in distress.

"What? Are we just... going?".

He was already walking to the doors, followed by Zoe. Upon hearing Martha he turned around, hands in his pockets.

"Well, the software is erased, and unrecoverable; I've dead-locked the receiver, that thing won't work anymore, we are done. Come on!", he invited her, tilting his head.

She hesitantly started walking to their direction.

"But... What about this... the people working here, didn't we've just...put them into trouble? I mean destroying something they were working on...".

"Don't worry, Martha. They will figure it out somehow, the film will be completed and it's going to be a success", Zoe interrupted, absentmindedly, "I mean, _I hope it turns out to be a success_", she corrected.

They started the long walk back to the TARDIS. The city was now fully awake and populated by cars, brave bikers and crowds walking out of the subway exits. Zoe remembered aloud, chatting with Martha, the first time she asked directions for the nearest tube station and being mocked by an American kid. The young medical student was curious and interested in her, and kept asking about her adventures in the city. Despite her bad times and the fact that she went to New York basicly just to escape, she had good memories of the dazzling city, and had a lot of funny stories to tell.

"This other time" she kept giggling, while retelling, "I ended up stuck in a hotel elevator with

a Harvard writer and his husband -he was in town for some book signing- for more than three hours. Me and Lisa, my friend, we read the whole book! In the freaking elevator! Not that it was very long, but we reviewed it to him _live_! He put a dedication to us in the following edition", she laughed. "I swear!".

They were having a good time. Martha stopped on the railing to call her brother to brag about being on the Brooklyn Bridge. He loved her funny stories and was always surprised to know where she was.

The Doctor was a few steps behind them, looking at the two girls and how surprisingly they got along so quickly. Martha was goodhearted and clever, and the idea that she liked Zoe was keeping him on edge. The hints were too many to be ignored, but he had no certainty about her. Yet now he learned somehow that he would help her in his future, so at some point he would figure out things.

She had stopped now, waiting for Martha, looking around at the view. He was strolling, coming closer. Zoe smiled, and he couldn't help but think that it was a beautiful, honest smile, and if not, she was a damn good actress. Her smile faded in noticing his thoughtful gaze.

"Doctor?".

He looked away, then turned to her again.

"Did _I_ tell you the film turns out to be a success?".

She smiled coyly.

"Or, well, actually, _will_ I tell you?"

She seemed to give it a lot of thought. "You said, or _will say_..." she started, then grinned, biting her lip. "..._no spoilers_".

At this, he smiled. "Good girl", he mumbled, then repeated, resigned, "Good girl".

She smiled back, then went to catch up with Martha, who had finished her conversation and was now close to the stairs to get off the bridge and reach the field in which the TARDIS was parked.

He opened the door to the girls and waited for them to get in, before giving a last look at the view. As they entered, he threw off his coat and launched it to hang on a coral pillar, pacing quickly to the console.

Before he could reach it, the ship started rocking and bumping. Martha was holding on to the other side of the console, and Zoe slammed to her side, landing in the Doctor's arms.

"No no no no" he blabbered, helping the girl away from the console and into the captain chair, where she held on for dear life, as the ship kept clashing.

"Doctor! What's going on?", Martha cried.

"Something... I don't..." he was himself sliding on the floor as the TARDIS moved, trying to look at the monitor. "Zoe...!".

"I didn't touch a thing!", she said, half expecting again to be scolded.

He turned to her, cross.

"Zoe!"

"I didn't do anything! You're the one who stopped me from tripping over!", she complained.

"But this makes no sense! The TARDIS is..." he tried to explain, as the ship finally stopped. "...okay, well I wasn't expecting that". He pulled himself up, straightening his tie and jacket. "Okaaay! Everyone fine?".

"Did we move?", Martha asked.

He put his specs on, pulled a stethoscope from an inner pocket and started listening to the console, looking at the monitor.

"Yes! No, we're still in New York, but..." something started interfering with the monitor, and the screen was covered in waves. He hit it gently a couple times, but nothing changed.

Martha ran to the doors and stepped outside. They were in New York, but in Manhattan, at a corner she didn't recognize. Zoe followed her out. The streets were not as busy as before, and not much else was different, but they both felt uneasy, as if something else was unsettling, although they couldn't put a finger on it. Some background noise felt out of place.

"This is... Wall Street", Zoe noted.

The Doctor joined them, rubbing his hair, looking around. The atmosphere was eerie, he could feel it too, and his eyes were worried.

"Is this earlier? Did we travel in the past?" Zoe asked, checking her surroundings.

"Don't know exactly when, the monitor went all fuzzy before I could read it. But it must be, ye-" he stopped mid-sentence, looking up.

"What's this noise?", Martha lamented, as the sound grew louder.

"Doctor...", Zoe beckoned, her hand slowly raising, as to point to something in the air. "It's 2001", she added, her voice trembling.

Martha turned to where she was faintly suggesting, while the Doctor's eyes widened in shock.

"It's September 11th, 2001", Zoe said, as tears slowly started to water her eyes.

They couldn't take their eyes off, as the plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, while the ground shattered with the most terrifying sound they had ever heard.


	15. 9 11

**A/N. I know this is a delicate subject I've chosen... I hope I'm not hurting anyone's sensitivity with it. But seriously, if you read it (yes I know it's veeeery long), if you read it let me know if you think it's offensive or if it makes sense as I have a few other options to carry on the plot and I can still replace it with something else. **

**15 - 9/11**

Zoe caught a deep breath and leaped forward, but the Doctor quickly grabbed her sleeve to stop her.

"Wh-".

"Where do you think you're going?

"What?" she turned to look at him. "Are you joking? I'm going there! We have to warn them, the other tower won't be hit for...", she was cut off abruptly.

"No, we're not".

"What? But we can help! The towers will burn for hours before collapsing! There's still some time..."

"No interfering with past events, Zoe. Didn't I mention that?". She stared at him, unbelievingly.

Martha was still looking at the burning top floors of the tower, speechless. She was still very young when the attacks happened, and she couldn't handle the feelings at seeing it happen live in front of her eyes.

"But... Doctor!", Zoe protested. "You have a time machine! There must be something we can do!".

He was standing still, no hint of movement whatsoever. He rubbed his finger on his eye, the other hand shoved in his pocket.

She made a try for the run again, but he quickly jumped in front of her, grabbing her shoulders. She tried shaking him off, but his grasp was firm.

"I'm sorry", he said, leaning closer.

"Doctor", she breathed hardly, "Please", she begged.

Martha joined them.

"Is this fixed?", she asked.

"What do you mean,_ fixed_?", Zoe repeated.

"It's when you can't interfere with the past, even if there is something wrong", she explained, looking for the Doctor to confirm. He nodded.

"Well, is it?".

"It... it is... well, there are no alien threats here, this is really none of our business. We can't do anything", he said, coldly.

"What?", Zoe snapped. "_No alien threats_?", she repeated, in disbelief. "You go around the universe saving random people of any species or background and now you won't help... us?".

He turned around, holding her gaze severely.

"It's not of my concern. This is... human. It's a small event, if you look at the whole history of humanity. You need to look at the bigger picture."

"_A small event? The bigger picture?_ Are you listening to yourself?". Zoe was almost yelling now, anger and pain beyond her control.

"We're not here to help".

"Then why are we here? Your brilliant, fantastic ship, the TARDIS, are you saying it brought us here for a... stroll?".

He started walking back to the TARDIS.

Martha saddened, looking at him and at the towers.

"Doctor! I am talking to you!", Zoe was really upset now, and she couldn't let her disappointment go.

He sighed, and faced her again. "I can hear you, loud and clear", he said, scorning.

"I see. So, is that who you really are? You'll do anything to save the day, on any fucking planet in the universe, only if it's aliens invading or if you see something wrong, is it? Can't you see how wrong this is?", she cried. "The whole world changes from this moment on! People are still going to war years later! Americans, Europeans, volunteers from every country in the world is... The Middle East will be torn apart for years! Please don't pretend you don't know what this means for us... _humans_!".

He stopped.

"I can't change it. I... I can't. Because it is as you say, the whole world changes from this moment on", he said, softening his voice. "I can't prevent it. Even if... Even if I could, we are here now, we're part of events, we can't go back to before the hit".

"But please! Thousands will die, today, _here_! My... People _I knew_ died because of this", she pointed. "Just over there! We can at least warn the people trapped in...".

The building was being evacuated, and people of every kind were running as fast as they could away from the towers, as the top floors released a huge curtain of thick smoke. People started running in fear from every other building in the square, and Tv vans were gathering in the streets around, not going too close, but journalists were trying to get witness to talk to the studios, although every camera was pointed at the building. Tourists with small holiday videocameras were filming the crowd and the fog coming from the tower.

Zoe tucked in her hoodie and took a stand.

"Well I don't care if we can't prevent this, the least we can do is help with the aftermath".

She started running.

"No... Zoe!". The Doctor rubbed a hand through his face, sighing. "You can't... I can't have you stick around! If you don't come back to your own timeline with us there will be two of you overlapping! You... Ugh!", he frowned, as she blended in the crowd.

"Come and get me, then", she coldly replied from the distance.

Martha stepped in front of him.

"Doctor", she stated. "I don't care if you think she's dangerous, but she's right! We can't stop this, but even if we can't save everyone, we can at least help someone. I'm going with her", she said, and trailed off following Zoe's steps.

"What? Martha!", he called. "Oh, great - Don't wander off, why does it sound so easy... humpf", he muttered.

He dropped his wavering hands to his hips and sighed. With a few quick steps, he joined the girls, silent.

They were standing in the middle of the street, amidst a traffic jam of cars stopped, people running and screaming, and police cars coming from every side. News helicopters were now flying all over Manhattan, although not a single one daring to go anywhere near the World Trade Center. The whole place was devastating, and both Martha and Zoe were on the edge of tears.

He looked at them in awe. He couldn't help, and neither could they, but they weren't afraid to stand up to him and make their choice. Humans really never stopped surprising him. He gently pushed a hand on Martha's back, whispering.

"Come here", he said, and hugged her.

"I'm just a student, Doctor, but if I could save even just a single one of them... I mean, you do understand, right? I can't just walk away... I can't just _leave_", she said, sniffing, trying to catch breath.

"I know", he commented, tightening his grasp "I know", then repeated.

Zoe turned to look at him, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

He stretched one arm out and hugged her shoulder, pulling her close to keep his words to just the three of them, as a captain or a trainer would do on a field with his team.

He took a deep breath.

"Okay, so, new set of rules, just for this once. You don't act like you know what's going to happen, with _anyone_, is that clear? This is, well, really more of a general rule, but still, here you actually have to respect that. Not a word! These people here have no idea, and there are enough conspiracy theories as it is. And - don't tell your name to anyone. And please run away from the towers before they collapse. Also, and i know this is going to be hard, no major life savings, okay? We can lend a hand but not prevent death for anyone meant to die. Sorry, huge risk of ripping the universe apart. Trust me, I've tried. Aaaand... try to stick together, okay? Understood?", he said, with an inviting nod.

"Understood", the girls said, serious.

"Great. One last thing...", he said, looking up, as the smoke from the tower became thicker, "...Don't get too emotional".

That said, he patted their shoulders and started walking to where the first emergency vehicles had parked. The paramedics and firemen were all in shock, not really sure of how to handle the situation, but a group of bystanders was gathering around, willing to volunteer in the rescue.

The second plane crashed on the South Tower, and the crowd, which kept growing and running from the first hit, gasped in silence at the same time. Fire was coming from the other building, and smoke and ashes were descending on them.

Speechless, the Doctor, Martha and Zoe joined the group, the Doctor restraining his habit of taking command, instead drawing aback and listening carefully to some policemen who were trying to coordinate the volunteers. The group began animately discussing what to do and how each could help, as they were splitting into smaller teams of different skills, and the firemen teams were getting ready to climb the almost infinite stairs of the tower to reach the upper floors, where the fire kept burning and people would most likely be trapped.

The three of them sadly noticed that nobody was considering the possibility of the building collapsing yet, and the Doctor had to give the girls more than a warning look to have them resist the urge of anticipating it.

Most of the people coming out of the buildings were in shock and hurt, and most of them fainted when going out on the street, looking at that burning hole in the heart of the city, which they had only felt from inside the building. People were jumping from the top floors. Martha joined the personnel closer to the ambulances and started helping them, flashing her badge from Royal Hope Hospital quickly, before anyone could notice her name or the date she began training. The paramedics weren't too bothered, they soon realized there wasn't enough help and any doctor around was gladly welcomed to join them.

The Doctor and Zoe were helping a group of school teachers in regrouping their pupils, calling the names out loud, although it seemed impossible for anyone to hear, as everyone was screaming.

About an hour had passed, although time seemed to slip a lot faster than it had when she watched it on the telly that September afternoon, after frantic phone calls reached them at work. All of a sudden, the ground around them began rumbling and shaking, as they all turned around to see the first tower collapse.

Horrified, the crowd scattered in every direction, and the Doctor himself had to drag Zoe away, as she froze looking at the event. The building moved to the ground like in slow motion, and no matter how much adrenaline Zoe had collected in the rush of finding the children, she felt her body shake and crumble, as her face cracked into tears.

The Doctor tightened his grip around her, as she sunk her head under his chin.

"I got you", he said, trying to reassure her. "I'm here, I got you".

His eyes wandered around to check on Martha, although he had just an instant earlier caught a glimpse of her standing by the ambulances, pretty far from where the ground fell apart. She met her worried gaze and gave her an ok sign, as she sighed relieved, with a faint smile.

They spent most of the morning there, long after the second tower collapsed, bringing down other buildings with it, the three of them trying to help as much as they could, and the Doctor was awestruck at the energy the girls were putting into their efforts.

Martha still needed to take her finals to actually be a doctor, but she worked as hard as any other on the field, her skills and focus overruling her fears and shock as she professionally put all her training into real action, under the supervision of experienced doctors.

Zoe didn't have any practical experience with medicine and wasn't strong enough to help the firemen in trying to extract people from the ruins of the building or the debris, and devoted herself to comfort desperate and panicked people, trying to calm them down and helping them in locating their friends and relatives in the mayhem, running around calling them and escorting them to their families or groups.

He himself was helping, in any way he could, without using his sonic screwdriver once, but as soon as the official forces came along, he knew they had to leave. He watched in silence as more and more policemen, firemen and the port authority officers started coordinating the situation, scooping away the volunteers as they didn't want any more casualties than the lives already at stake.

He gave a simple glance at the girls, not too far away from him. Zoe nodded, waved at a mother she had just reunited with her son and walked to him, zipping her hoodie. Martha had to pretend to go and fetch something from a lorry, but as soon as she was out of sight from the doctor she was taking instruction from, she joined the Doctor and Zoe.

They were all silent as they reached the TARDIS, ignored by everyone because of the perception filter that let it stay unnoticed.

Once inside, he unbuttoned his jacket, looking at the girls and thinking about that unexpected dive into humanity he just experienced, and thought that maybe the TARDIS had sent them there for that reason.

Martha looked at Zoe, and then at him. He seemed to know what she meant with that single look, and nodded. Looking at the troubled girl as she leaned on a railing, away from the console, he started operating the controls.

The TARDIS hummed under the expert hands of her beloved Doctor and travelled without noise or bumping, and landed with her usual _vworp vworp_ sound that Zoe was starting to get used to.

He grabbed his long coat and opened the doors, letting a gentle light filter inside. He walked quietly outside. Shortly after, the girls followed him.

They were on top of a green hill, surrounded by a sea of clouds from which other hilltops peaked through. A white, almost unnoticeable mist was covering everything, tickling gently on their skin. The light was somehow filtered, but the girls were covering their foreheads to shield the beams from their eyes.

"Oh, almost forgot", the Doctor said, quickly reentering the TARDIS. Zoe glanced at him as he pushed a button on the console, and the light bulb on top of the blue box started flickering.

The mist seemed to scramble into pieces, and rainbows started showing on every side of the hill. Some of them were bright and clear, close to them, others were distant, their colours blending into the clouds.

Martha was lost in thoughts and strolled around, keeping an eye on the TARDIS, as she slowly walked away to sit alone and call her family. She was tired and felt a little numbness coming over her, after the hard work of the day, but she felt the need to hear her sister's voice. Or her mother, even if they weren't exactly on good terms since she had started traveling with the Doctor.

Zoe felt exhausted, and sat quietly on a rock, absentmindedly staring at the pastel colours of the view, playing with her necklace.

Hands in his pockets, the Doctor walked silently to her side.

"This place is so peaceful", she said, pulling her hood over her head against the breeze.

He smiled gently, and sat by her side. "Yeah... Thought we could all use some rest, for a while".

She kept looking at the rainbows.

"Where are we? What planet is this?".

"It's called Paradelia. It's actually a moon, not a planet".

"How can we breathe?".

"The TARDIS has a filter to make the air compatible with your respiratory system, but it's not this case. The air here is perfectly safe for all of us".

She pulled the tattoo pen out of her pockets and drew two more dots on her wrist, then put it away and started smudging the back of her hand, where the dirt from the day had almost scratched the writings away. Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she warily checked a big bruise on her forearm.

"Feeling better?", he asked, and she stopped, surprised.

"Better... that's an overstatement", she said, with a bitter giggle. "I... I am overwhelmed, Doctor".

He turned to look at her, his hair waving in the breeze.

"It's... I don't know. I feel... You know, when you're feeling... like... out of context, and it's... only a few hours, but it's so exciting and so much is happening that it feels like weeks? Like when you're a child on a field trip, and you just spend a morning somewhere unusual and unexpected, instead of at school, and...".

"I don't know much about school field trips, actually, but I think I know what you mean", he smiling replied.

"I'm on... _a moon_... _somewhere_", she stated, as if to repeat it to her own self. "I've... I spent a lot of my time traveling around the world, sometimes willingly, sometimes not, but I always felt like I knew it all". She paused, and took a deep breath. "Always felt like I knew better than anyone, because I've seen the world, more than most people do. But since I met you, well... now, I just feel..."

He lowered his gaze, thoughtfully, and she started speaking again.

"I don't know, it feels... I feel so tiny, and unimportant, and useless. There's so much more in the universe than I could ever possibly imagine, and it's... it's a lot to take in, and it happened so fast, I really didn't have time to set my mind around it, but I... I just feel a little lost, that's all. But I'm loving this. Ground Zero aside, of course, but it was good to be there... and help, even just a little".

"How long have you been gone? Since that first time jump, I mean".

"I can't really say. Feels like weeks, really, but it can't have been more than... maybe a night? The space station, then I met... er, okay, not sure if I can tell you, then I was back in time, then I came back here, or... well, to this morning, er, no, the first morning of this morning, wow, I _really _can't say.", she blabbered, trying to make sense of the words.

He smiled.

"I get it. Timey-wimey", he commented, throwing his head back, leaning on his palms, his coat opening at the wind.

"It's been quite a rollercoaster, yep...", she said, rolling down her sleeves, but he suddenly sprinted sitting again and took her hand, examining her arm.

He seemed concerned, but she had troubles reading into his eyes.

"Literally, a rollercoaser. Seriously, how much running! Yes, physically...", she kept on, hesitantly. "...but also emotionally, I've been through easier days when I was-".

He interrupted her with his deep, staring gaze.

"I can't... I can't...", he began to say. "I can't see your timeline, that's why I can't trust you".

She was speechless, but her eyes were obviously questioning him.

"I am a Time Lord. The way I see everything, the... the way my brain processes thoughts, I... I can see all that is, all that ever was, all that could ever be. All the time, all of time and space, it's all clear in my mind. Readable. But I can't see, well... _you_".

She didn't know what to make of what he said, but it felt like a confession.

"Is it because I... I jumped?", she asked, not quite sure why.

He sighed.

"Or maybe it is the reason _because of_ you jumped, because your timeline is impossible? I can't... I can't put a finger on it", he said, releasing her hand. "I really don't know, and I usually know... _stuff_, and that makes me very, very, uncomfortable. You, _you make me uncomfortable_".

She didn't like this last bit, but she kept quiet. Being told she had an impossible timeline.

"It's like you're _out of time_, Zoe". Also, she could tell he didn't like to admit he didn't know what was going on, and it was worrying her.

"Doctor... I...", she carefully chose the words. "I... don't know you that much, but I understand that since I jumped back and forth, you seem to have been through this for a while. I'm not sure if I can tell you this, but... somehow, someday you'll sort it out".

He was half smiling when suddenly his grin turned to a pout.

"...er, I mean, hopefully", she smiled bitterly, "I hope so, that's what I meant. Not a spoiler, you know", she added, nudging him with her shoulder.

He should have scolded her for this revelation, but he felt somehow relieved. He still wasn't entirely sure, but he was starting to think she wasn't all bad, and despite his doubts, he felt as a huge burden was lifted from him, and he decided he could postpone worrying about the crazy psychopath named Chloe until some more later.

With that thought, he giggled, and nudged back at her shoulder, teasing. His contagious broad grin was warm and relaxed, and she couldn't help but widen her cheeks as well.

Martha walked slowly behind them, surprised in seeing them at ease with each other, finally.

"You're clever. You'll figure something out", she smiled. "I trust you, Doctor".

He jumped on his feet and invited her to take his hand.

"Well, let's go figure it out, then. What are we waiting for?"

They strolled back into the TARDIS and the Doctor tossed again his coat on the first coral pillar on his right, where it landed in its usual spot.

"Allons-y! Zoe, the TARDIS will show you a room, hopefully. You both girls should get some rest", he said, unbuttoning his pinstripe jacket. "Me, I've got work to do".

**A/N It's a very long chapter but I didn't want to cut the ending scene off... thought the characters could use a moment of ease. Please please please let me know what you think, I'd love to hear opinions from American readers. (and everyone else of course)**

**From now on it's going to be more and more timey-wimey and catch up with the canon at some points. Updates will follow soon, although I don't know how often because I'll be off to work all August and I don't want to rush things... Also I'm trying my best not to have Zoe unwillingly turned into a Mary-Sue. **


	16. Spoilers

**More timey-wimey... Did you watch the Olympics opening ceremony yesterday? Don't you think there was someone missing?**

**16 - Spoilers**

"Doctor? I think the TARDIS disagrees", Zoe said, at the last step of the stairs. She had been strolling around for a while, almost getting lost if Martha hadn't found her wandering around with no clue of where she was.

"Mh?", she heard him mumble from under the console.

"No room", she said, cautiously, turning around the pillar to see his long legs and his red chuck taylors' poking out from a mess of cables, tools and machinery she didn't recognize.

"Oh. Well... that's... sorry. She must have other plans", he said, sliding out and standing up.

His light blue shirt was all messy and out of his trousers, and he had rolled up his sleeves, but the tie was still perfectly in place, which made Zoe smile. He was wearing the glasses again, and he ran a hand through his hair, thoughtfully. Looking at his manly hairy arms, at how skinny and yet strong and firm he was, Zoe couldn't help but think he was pretty handsome.

"What are you doing? Can I help?", she asked.

"Oh! Almost done. I'm making you a recognizing filter, so the TARDIS will know you're here because I invited you. It should stop her from misplacing you".

"I thought you said you _abducted_ me", she said, flashing him a smile.

He looked at the toolbox thoughtfully, tugging on his earlobe.

"Well, yeah, let's not get into a... vocabulary discussion", he said, seriously, then added. "I'm almost done, but I'll need something of yours, something you'll likely always have on you".

She shoved her hands in the black hoodie pockets, shrugging.

"That narrows it down to the tattoo pen and my necklace".

"Great! Give me your necklace".

She instinctively started fiddling with it, nervously.

"Are you going to break it or something? Not that it's valuable, but I like it".

"No, no, no, I just need something to point the filter to, you'll have it back as if nothing has changed. Well, you don't even need to take it off", he said, waving his hand, then grabbed a device from the floor, that looked like a radio but had a lot of add-ons somehow sprinting from it. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and holding it between his teeth, he turned the machine on.

A loud, high-pitched beeping sound came from it, and the thing sparkled in his hands before going silent, smoking, while the Doctor stretched his arms out and Zoe jumped back in surprise.

"What was that?", Martha screamed worriedly appearing from the stairs.

The Doctor was shaking the object in his hands, mumbling. "Why did you that for?", he asked the device.

"I thought you went to sleep", Martha said to Zoe, stepping closer to them.

"Apparently, I don't have a room", she replied, looking at the Doctor as he struggled with the sonic screwdriver.

Martha was about to speak again when the Doctor anticipated her.

"Right! So, I'll need a little more time for this. Zoe, you can sleep in my room for now, I hardly ever use it anyway", he said, taking off his spectacles to clean them with the end of his shirt.

"What?", Martha said, sounding a little more annoyed that she wanted to.

"Zoe had a much longer day than us, Martha. It's just fair she rests as much as you. Come, I'll show you. Also, the wardrobe is on our way, so you'll know where to go when you wake up".

"Thank you, Doctor", Zoe said gently.

Martha was still surprised. "I didn't even know you had a room at all".

"I have a lot of rooms, Martha Jones, I have a TARDIS. I just almost never need a bedroom", he said, running up the stairs, spinning to face the girls.

"Yeah, that's what I thought", she mumbled as they followed him, unheard from the Doctor, but Zoe noticed her words, although she didn't comment. She was actually tired and before the Doctor offered his room, she was planning on resting on the captain chair in the control room.

"Oh! And give me that necklace of yours, will you?", he asked Zoe as he opened a wooden door to a bright, clean room, decorated in a vintage mood, with thick golden curtains, brocade pillows and a large, antique bed. Red and gold were the dominant colours, and the wooden floor was warm under her feet as she finally took off her boots, relieved.

"How does it have windows on the outside?", Zoe asked, pointing at the clouds and rainbows outside, tossing the necklace to him.

"Big achievements in Gallifreyan superior technology can't be explained in human language", he said, smug, as he caught the medal in his hands. "Bathroom is over there", he said, pointing to a wooden door slightly opened to the en-suite. "Sleep tight!" he said, waving his hand with an embarassed smile, and left.

She closed the door, again surprised at the Doctor's change in attitude after the morning events. First he was angry and severe, and now he offered his room for her to rest. It took her a second to realize there wasn't really anything personal in the offer, as the room was indeed hardly someone's bedroom. No pictures, no clothing, nothing in the bathroom gave the idea of anyone actually living there.

She stripped and opened the bathroom door, to find a posh ceramic bathtub with golden decor, in which she laid as soon as it was filled. The TARDIS provided also bubbles, although, much to Zoe's distaste, it smelled of cinnamon and bananas.

"Great, I'm having a muffin bath", she thought, smiling, finally relaxing in the bath, warily checking at the bruises on her arms, and finding out she had a lot more on her legs. She grinned, looking at the dots on her arm and verifying that they were indeed exactly like her other tattoos. She suddenly felt at ease and her body went limp in the warm bubbly water.

A rumbling noise pulled her out of her dozing, and grabbing a towel she jumped on her feet. Her fingers were swollen and white, and she realized she must have fallen asleep a lot more than she thought.

She wrapped the towel around her body and stepped out into the room, where, much to her surprise, her clothes were nowhere to be seen.

"Doctor?", she called.

She carefully opened the door to the corridor, her head poking out.

"Doctor?", she repeated, looking back into the empty room, leaving the door open. "Where are my clothes?"

She heard his reply from afar.

"Why would I know? I'm busy, Richards! Just go to the wardrobe and pick something else!".

_Uh-oh._

"Doctor?", she called again, worried.

"Oh, girl, give me a break!", he yelled, and as his voice grew closer, Zoe nodded to herself in clarification. _Yep. Great._

From the corner, he appeared, gesturing his hands in the air. "I told you a hundred times, no distractions when I'm dealing with spacey-wacey st-", he stopped mid-sentence as soon as he spotted her in the corridor, just a towel covering her naked, slim body.

With a resigned expression, she waved a hesitant hand to the man.

"Hm... hello".

"Hi. Uhm, yes, ah, hi", he blabbered, adjusting his bow-tie. "I... er, I...", he kept moving his hands pointing at her and at the direction he came from. "You... so, well, yes", he finally said, running a hand through his floppy hair. "Hi!", he smiled, and hugged her awkwardly.

"Yes! Good to see you too...", she said, shrugging to stand on her own feet. "...not to break this jolly moment, but how about I get dressed first?".

He drew back quickly.

"Yes! Of course! Sure! No! Med bay, I don't like those bruises. Upstairs. You know where the wardrobe is, right? Go get yourself some fancy clothes, then... then wait upstairs, okay?", he said warily, looking in her eyes, pointing a bossy finger between his nose and hers. "Important. Wardrobe, then upstairs, med bay. See you in a sec", he said, spinning around and running off.

She strolled around to where she thought the wardrobe was, but she remembered a second too late that the new TARDIS was completely different, and she didn't find the big clothing room. As she turned on her feet to go back, she heard voices from the control room.

"How can I know?".

"Well don't you remember?".

"The dots don't match, it's not time yet!".

"But I have to send her back and the only idea I have now is the ring".

"No. No ring. It's not time yet".

"You sure?".

"Yes! Just never occurred to me it could be my own idea, now go, go, go".

Zoe didn't see the face of the girl the Doctor was talking to, but she reasoned it would be best if she followed instructions and just stepped upstairs and went to the med bay. She laid on the bed, waiting, trying not to panic about being tossed away again, without her phone, the pen, the supposed filter the Doctor was making, or... any clothes. All she literally had was a towel. Guess _The hitchicker's guide to the galaxy_ was right, she thought.

########################################################

Martha woke up after a few hours. She was getting used to sleeping on the TARDIS: the Doctor didn't seem to need any sleep, and after a while, she realized he made noises and dropped metallic things on purpose to wake her up, when he got bored. She didn't usually suffer from sleep privation, though, because the TARDIS provided the best rest ever and it took less than the average human bed time to be fully restored, and often, after a two-hours nap she woke up better than after oversleeping in her bed in London.

She got dressed and strolled out, when she noticed the Doctor's room was still closed.

"Zoe?", she knocked, but noone answered, and shrugging, she went to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

The Doctor was spinning madly around the console room, and nodded to Martha as she handled him his cup of tea.

"Everything all right?", she asked.

"Not sure, the TARDIS rumbled, didn't it wake you up?".

"Oh, I didn't notice, but probably, yes".

"Where's Zoe?".

"Thought she was here with you, she didn't answer when I knocked at her..., er, _your_ door".

He looked at her, surprised.

"Oh, no, don't tell me...", he frantically started typing at the keyboard, calling her out.

"Zoe?", nobody answered. "Zoe!" he repeated, suddenly running up the stairs to his bedroom door. "Martha, check the wardrobe!"

"Zoe?", she started calling, too.

"Are you there?", the Doctor asked, his ear on the door panel, when Martha turned up from the wardrobe, shaking her head. "I hope you're dressed, because I'm opening the door... Zoe?".

The room was empty, and her clothes were on the floor. From the open en-suit door, they both could smell cinnamon and bananas, but the girl wasn't there.

The Doctor quickly ran downstairs to the monitor, trying to get the TARDIS to check on her.

"Why did you do that for? What's wrong with you?", he asked the ship, as the screen flashed, much to his discomfort, that there were only two passengers on board, the Doctor and Martha Jones.

########################################################

She was resting on the bed, her towel almost unwrapped, when he came back, a few minutes later, mumbling with himself. Pushing some buttons on a monitor beside her, he turned a scanner on and a blue light quickly healed her bruises.

"Come along, Richards", he said, trying not to look at her, his gaze averting around the room.

She jumped up, barefoot, and followed him, dragging her feet through the corridors, until they were in the wardrobe room.

"Take your time, I'll wait in the console room", he said, embarassed, pointing to a cupboard. Zoe pulled a drawer out to find underwear of her exact size. Ok, _this is a bit creepy_, she thought, pulling out a black bra and panties.

The TARDIS moved the racks until a selection of average 21st century girl clothes was in front of Zoe. She quickly chose a pair of denim shorts and a black crew neck large t-shirt, then looked around for shoes and found a pair of black chuck taylors' apparently waiting for her.

Once dressed, she walked back to the control room, slowly.

"There you are! Come on, now, where were you, before... uhm, before appearing in my bathtub?", the Doctor said, working on a typewriter, looking at the monitor hanging on top of the console.

"I was... oh, we were...", she looked around, trying to focus on the name. "Paradelia?", she hopefully said.

"Oh! Yes! Oh...", he paused, as if something distracted him, then snapped back to her.

"Yes! Good girl!", he winked at her, and started working on a clog, while on the screen images of him and other people flashed as in a tape rewinding. Zoe looked amazed at the screen, although it was so fast she could only recognize Amy, then his familiar pinstripe suit, before asking.

"Doctor?" she joked, "Is that... your diary?".

"Oh, blimey, don't look", he suddenly said, spinning to push her out of the way so that she couldn't see the screen anymore "You're not supposed to see it".

She giggled. "Yeah, I know, spoilers".

"And by the way, it's not my... it's not my diary, it's the TARDIS log record", he protested, finally setting the screen on an image of Zoe, Martha and his previous self in a long coat walking out the TARDIS in a clouded mist. He flipped the screen to show her.

"Yep", she nodded, and he pushed a button on the typewriter. He pulled the paper out to check the coordinates, and started working on the console again.

"We'll go in a minute, I'll just have to adjust the TARDIS a bit, or she won't like to just land there".

Zoe was about to comment that the other time around he didn't want to fly the TARDIS to the past, but she wasn't sure about the spoilers thing, and stood silent while he was trafficking and rummaging around the room.

"Doctor, where's Amy?".

"Amy?", he repeated, absentmindedly.

"Yes, Amy".

"I... She had to go home", he said, sadly.

"Oh. So...are you... are you travelling on your own now?".

"Well, no, you're here now".

"Yes, but I'm only here for a ride, apparently".

"No, I know, but, you're here with me".

"Doctor, you're taking me back to my original timeline, I'd hardly consider that travelling with you".

He groaned.

"No, what I mean is now _you're here_".

The penny dropped and her face was almost split in half by her sudden smile.

"Oh! Oh! I'm here? Really? You were talking to me earlier? Can I see...", she started blabbering, but he stopped with a finger on her lips.

"Shush, Zoe. I already said too much. You can't meet future you. Even if you could, you're currently on a stroll out on your own to avoid meeting you, or well, future you left minutes ago, specifically not to run into you".

"Wow, so future me isn't friendly", she smiled.

"No, it's not that, come on!", he said, grabbing her arm, and gently running a finger to the dotted line on her wrist. "It's... You're wise enough not to complicate things even further".

She looked at him, distracted. She couldn't read his eyes, and suddenly felt uncomfortable when he returned her gaze. She felt electric under his gaze.

"Right! So, how about helping me fly the TARDIS, Zoe?", he interrupted the silence abruptly, pulling a probe from the console and scanning her forehead.

"But... I can't touch the console, you said".

"Well now that you're with me you can, and I sure could use some help".

She smiled listening to his instructions, as he gently guided her hands to the different levers and plotters needed. Her first touch to the console was hesitant and worried, as despite his words she feared she would be again engulfed in golden light and tossed somewhen else, but the machine hummed to her touch and nothing happened.

"Ready?"

"Ready!", she smiled gleefully.

"Geronimo!", he said, flashing her a broad smile.

###############################################

The Doctor was looking at the device he made, twisting Zoe's necklace in his hands, tossing it to the air and catching it back. He had his glasses on, again, and he had connected the device to the TARDIS console to adjust his readings, but he was frustrated with the lack of results.

Martha was silently watching him, but after a while she felt just bothered at his pointless attempts.

"Why are you so concerned? Isn't it likely she will come back on her own?".

"Marthaaaa", he scolded her. "She could be anywhere, how could I not worry?"

"Yes, but Doctor, up until she came back all punk and sexy you didn't seem too fond of her, what changed?", she said.

"What?", he said, distracted, or pretending to ignore her.

"I thought you didn't like her".

"I thought _you_ liked her, what's changed?", he mocked her.

"But I do! Anyway... er, well, that's not the point. First you're all _don't wander off, is that clear, understood..._", she said, making an impression of his soldier-mood voice, "...and now you're offering her your room and going all worried cause she disappeared again! You're just... gah!", she blurted, frustrated.

He sighed, and turned to her.

"She disappeared while I told her that she could rest and be safe, of course I'm concerned! This shouldn't be happening, it just messes with... with my... with what I'm thinking", he trailed off, although she couldn't understand him. "Look, I... I can't be sure of anything when it comes down to her", he said, his eyes now plainly worried.

"But why?".

"I... I have a theory, but I'm not sure yet", he said, pinching his nose bridge. "Now, first thing's first, I need to get this thing to work, before she comes back".

They suddenly heard a familiar whirring noise and looked at each other in shock.

"Are we... Doctor, are we moving?" Martha asked, cautiously, although the room was perfectly still, and not one of the Doctor's tools moved, although scattered untidily on the floor.

"No", he said, jumping up and twirling around the console to check the monitor. "No, but..."

He placed his finger on his lips and they both stayed silent for a second, as the noise of the TARDIS landing became clearer.

"Oh, you're kidding me", he said, frustrated, looking at the screen.

Martha went close to take a look and was much more surprised than him to watch the TARDIS materializing.

"Is that a second TARDIS?", she asked.

She ran to the doors, but they were locked.

"Doctor, we're trapped!"

"It's a safety procedure, she won't let us out so we don't risk running into ourselves", he said, rubbing his forehead. He gave a resigned look at the screen, where he saw the other TARDIS doors open, and Zoe stepping out. "Aaand, of course...", he commented as the screen went off with an interference noise, just as he expected.

Once outside, Zoe turned to the doors as the Doctor followed her.

"We did it", she commented, more to herself than to him, who was smiling beside her.

"Of course we did, we're brilliant", he said.

"Are you sure we can be here? Another TARDIS, another Doctor...".

"He won't see me, I remember it. Right now he's inside with Martha, cursing at the screen that went blank".

"Well then, thank you for the lift, Doctor. And the driving lesson. Now go and fetch my future self from wherever she strolled off".

"Right! Yes! Of course I'll do, of course I'll have to find her first".

"You don't know where she went?".

"I have absolutely no clue", he sighed. "It's always a surprise, with you".

"I thought you liked surprises".

"I do", he grinned, and ran a hand through her hair, fondly. "Now, off you go. Go get your clothes and necklace back".

"Wait! How will these end in the TARDIS wardrobe? I mean I'll put them back, but isn't that a paradox?".

"Don't use that word, I don't like it, besides, it's not a paradox, it's...".

"..._timey wimey_, I know", she finished his sentence.

A broad grin appeared on his face.

"I'll see you soon, Zoe".

"Looks like I'll see you first, Doctor", she winked at him, and smiled back. She turned, and without looking at him again, she walked the short distance and knocked on the blue wooden doors.

As soon as the Doctor and Martha opened, the other TARDIS dematerializing sent a blast of wind that messed her hair, and she shrunk in the t-shirt, suddenly feeling cold. She turned to look as the last image of the future ship vanished, and felt the Doctor's hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, you wanderer", he said, gently pushing her inside.

**A/N It's funnier to write dialogue and I find it easier. Next chapters will all be messy and timey-wimey so make sure to follow! :) Also some people Zoe haven't met yet will show up soon... ok, sorry, no spoilers for you.**


	17. Grownups

**Time to spice things up!**

**17 - Grownups**

Martha ran into the TARDIS, while the Doctor and Zoe followed just minutes behind, laughing breathlessly.

"What?", she asked them.

"Oh, my... the face of the bloke!", the Doctor ranted, leaning on the railing to hold his stomach.

"Uh, and _who do you think you are?_" Zoe said between laughs, mocking someone.

Martha didn't get the joke, and shyly turned to the console. This had been going on for a couple of weeks, and it started bothering her. The two were partners in crime, and ever since Zoe joined them he seemed to be less troubled. Sharing jokes that Martha didn't get was the tip of the iceberg, though, as they seemed to be the closest friends she had ever seen. It wasn't clear if there was any physical attraction between them, but they didn't look like brother and sisters, always nudging each other, poking and messing with their hands.

Just two days earlier, she was about to walk in the TARDIS kitchen, when she found them whispering in the dim lit room, and although she didn't like to eavesdrop and didn't want to interrupt them, before she quickly drew back to her room, she heard a bit of their conversation.

"I just never thought of myself as someone who settles down", Zoe was saying.

"You can say that. Almost 903 years old me, still on the run. But you'll... eventually get tired", he had replied. "You're human. You'll grow old and tired... and lonely", he said, worriedly.

"Oi! I won't! And just so you know, a lot of people kept telling me that when I started travelling, and I was still going".

"That's why I met you with a full time job, I guess".

"I didn't want to stop, I had to. Life doesn't always go as planned, Doctor".

"Oh, I know", he had replied, his voice darkened.

In the console room, Martha often found herself looking at them as they exchanged knowing looks between each other. Zoe wasn't much older than her, but she seemed to be a lot more grown up. Perhaps the Doctor just needed someone else, another adult in the room, while Martha always felt like a child in need of instructions and education. Zoe, on the other hand, fit in the picture in the most natural way.

The Doctor kept experimenting to find a way to keep Zoe with them, but usually ended with her disappearing in fuzzy golden light, and his expectant, grinning smile fading as she said "Nope, doesn't work either".

Luckily the TARDIS seemed to appreciate the effort, as she almost always landed right into the next Doctor's TARDIS, who in return kept experimenting in sending her back to the right coordinates without landing his TARDIS next to the past one, because, as he said, to keep doing that could rip a hole in the universe as big as Belgium.

Her jumps didn't last much, and the Doctor sent her back linearly to Martha and his past self timeline, and if it took her four days spread from the year 2016 - Rio Olympics, that was nice - up to the year 5,000,000,000 - fireworks celebrations nearly caused her a heart attack -, Martha and the Doctor saw her disappear and reappear six times in less than an hour.

"I'm a bit tired, can't we try again tomorrow?", she complained, while he kept waving the sonic screwdriver in mid-air, his concentration glasses on.

"No no no, I just need to set the last psychic link with the console, and then it's done! You could even help us fly the TARDIS!", he said, cheerfully. "Ready?".

"If you say so", she said, frowning.

"Go", he said, and, while the light spread around, he heard her say "I'm so not letting you try again".

Martha felt bad about her own growing jealousy, as both of them kept being friendly to her. Zoe, who was now sharing the room with her, was always listening to her as she had much more experience as human travelling across the stars, and the Doctor still relied on her for advice, company and adventure. She wasn't sure of why she felt so left out by two people that were just nice to her as they were to each other, but she couldn't shake that uneasy feeling off.

With this last attempt Zoe landed in the past, right outside Jackie Tyler's flat in the Powell Estate, where she heard the TARDIS disappear. She leaned on a column in the courtyard to call the Doctor, and usually her phone would pick up the blondish, bow-tie wearing Doctor, but this time, Martha did.

"Where are you?".

Zoe was surprised to hear her stone cold tone.

"Uhm, before 2006, I think. Tell him Powell Estates. But the Doctor usually has the console pick up the coordinates from my mobile".

"Yeah, hang on, stay there", Martha answered, emotionless.

She suddenly felt fuzzy and in an instant, she was no longer standing in the courtyard, but the column she was leaning on was a coral pillar inside the TARDIS, where the Doctor looked at her with a frown.

"What, what happened?".

"Are you joking?", Martha said.

He silently walked over to Zoe and took her hand.

"You skipped something", he said, as coldly as Martha was when she called.

"What? How long?".

"A while", he said, shrugging. Something was wrong, he usually hugged her tight and joked about spoilers and pretending to guess where she had ended up, but there was no hint of complicity or fun in his voice, now. "Anyway, since you're here", he handed her the necklace. "It works now, if you still want to stay".

"What do you mean?".

"I mean I'm not a taxi driver. If you decide to go, just go. Don't keep changing your mind".

She felt her spine shiver at his words. What happened to the friendly Doctor?

"Doctor, what happened? I mean, I know you can't tell me, but... did I do something wrong?".

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, thoughtfully.

"No, but really, are you mad at me?".

The TARDIS suddenly resonated loudly with an alarm, and the Doctor immediately run to the console, while Martha called him.

"Doctor! It's a mauve alert!".

"Mauve? Let's go check it then, what do you say, Jones?"

"_Mauve?_", Zoe repeated, shuffling over to them.

"Mauve, it's the interplanetary code for danger", Martha said. "I thought it was red, but apparently that stands for...camp. Lots of misunderstandings".

"Oh, I can imagine...", Zoe grinned, but nobody else laughed.

The Tardis landed outside a big mansion in the outskirts of London, where a lot of cars were parked.

"This is not good", the Doctor said. "Something is wrong about this place".

"So many cars, but the place looks deserted", Martha noted.

"Exactly", he confirmed.

The Doctor sonicked a lock and they entered the garden, where the only light was coming from the moon.

They slowly walked into the house, only to find it was actually empty.

"Hello?", the Doctor called, "Anyone here?".

Martha and Zoe followed him upstairs, while he led the way with the light from his sonic screwdriver.

The rooms were all empty, and they stopped where an old wallpaper was beginning to tear from the wall.

The Doctor looked at the wall with a thoughtful expression, as if trying to remember something important, when he heard Zoe's voice.

"That's beautiful", she said, looking out of the window, pointing at something for Martha to look.

"They look so sad", she pointed, with a smirk. "What's so beautiful about sad?".

"I don't know, they're... deep. Martha, is anything wrong? Why do I have the feeling you're mad at me?".

"What is deep?", the Doctor cut in.

"The statues. They're beautiful and sad".

Something clicked in the Doctor's brains in hearing that, and he turned to the girls.

"No! Don't...".

But the girls were gone.

###########################################

It took her a while to stand on her feet and realize she was no longer in the haunted villa. Martha or the Doctor were nowhere around. She found herself in a tent, but before she could check her now sonicked phone, which usually told her the date, she felt hands pulling her.

"Now what are you doing hiding here? It's showtime, girl!". A man she didn't recognize shoved her to a small stage, where she looked around dazed only to find she was in a circus, and an old style nervous knife thrower was apparently waiting for her to take place on the wheel.

Confused, she decided to play along and carefully took place on stage, looking around and realizing the man wasn't old style, _she_ was _new_ style. She checked her clothing: she was wearing her cropped leather jacket with a fitted striped top, and a short black skirt, with her usual leather boots. That, the tattoo on her arm, and the piercings with which her face was covered didn't match with the 40s dresses everyone else was wearing around.

"No wonder they thought I was with the circus", she mumbled to herself, as the knife show started.

She looked at the audience. Everyone looked at her in wonder, but amongst their surprised faces, she saw a handsome, dark haired man, staring at her with piercing blue eyes, in a suspicious gaze. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Luckily the whole thing lasted less than she expected, because in a few minutes, she was already bowing on stage with the man, as the audience cheered. She didn't have a single scratch, and in her mind she thanked the artist.

As soon as they walked backstage, he was already driving her crazy.

"What on earth are you wearing, Miss? This is a respectable family show, now I don't know how you joined us, but we ain't here to take strays, and that things on your face look disturbing, how do you expect to ever be a suitable partner to any fine gentleman, even in a freak show?".

She knew better than to reply aggressively, but she didn't have to, because before she could speak, the man who stared at her before interrupted them, hooking his arm around her waist.

"Sorry, Mr. Finch, my... sister, here, isn't feeling well, she's just lost", he said, winking at her, "...and you're right, this is... well, disturbing. I'm sorry about the confusion, and thank you"., he said, with a strong American accent.

Zoe looked at him in surprise.

"Is it true? Is this man your brother, Miss?"

The man gave her a deadly serious look that didn't match his broad smile and nudged at her, before she answered, trembling.

"Uh, oh, yes! Oh, thank you, I was so lost!", she said, exaggerating the acting and the fake accent. "Thank you, my dear brother, for coming to my rescue!".

"Cut it off", the man hissed in her ear, and pulled her away.

"Oi", she snorted once they were away from the cheering audience, out to the street, "Stop pulling me, I can walk!".

"Well, you won't walk very far in that Coachella outfit, love. Gee, I left before layoff season, but did they have major cuts on training?", he groaned.

"Sorry?", she said, scowling.

"Oh, don't give me that. I knew since I saw you. Come on, piercings? Really? Don't you have a supervisor?".

"Sorry, _bro_, I really don't know what you're talking about", she frowned.

"Well, you're good looking enough, and a pretty good actress, that makes sense. The Time Agency must think high quite highly of you, to send you to 1941 without even checking if you're properly dressed", he said, opening a flap on a wristband and pointing a flash of blue light to her. "I see, non contemporary fabrics, and what are you hiding there, an universal roaming communication device, although, well, the piercings really gave it away", he smiled, walking closer to her. "I like it, though", he said, waving a hand overall to her general direction.

She stood still, trying to figure out her next move.

He pulled out a wallet, similar to one the Doctor had, from his navy military coat, and flashed it open in front of her eyes, while he pulled her arm up.

"Captain Jack Harkness, and you are?", he said, lowering his chin to give her a gentle peck on the hand.

"Nice..." she said softly, distracted by his touch, and immediately changing tone to snap the wallet out of his hands. "Nice try. This is psychic paper".

He smiled sideways.

"...And it says you're alone and... _openminded_", she smirked.

"Can't blame a man for trying", he replied. "You're familiar with psychic paper, then. You know it's a tricky thing, but it's hard to stay focused when your mind is... loose", he added, giving her a burning look from head to toes.

She stood speechless. _Oooh, he's charming_.

"I know a thing or two, yes", and absentmindedly handed him the wallet.

"_Zoe Richards_", he read from it, opening as soon as it was back in his hands, "...and apparently..._ it's been a while", _he flirted, holding her hands again, "and I can't help but wonder, _a while_ since what?"

"I've been... busy lately", she mumbled, forgetting about her own don't-give-your-name-to-strangers first rule of being on the run, drawn by the man's warm hands.

She lingered a moment, while he looked into her eyes with a deep, piercing gaze.

"So... Zoe", he said, without letting go of her hands, "Are you travelling on your own?".

#######################################

Martha Jones didn't panic easily.

She knew that the Doctor would fix that, because the girl who gave them the papers seemed confident that whatever he was up to, it would work.

It would certainly have helped if the Doctor was around. Heck, she would have been relieved to see Zoe, despite recent events. He didn't explain much about the Weeping Angels, and she didn't really know what happened. He would catch up, she was sure, but when?

She had been sitting in the field for what felt like hours, and the sun was setting down. The evening breeze was rising and she felt cold. What if he jumped weeks later? She had to survive on her own.

She started walking through the grass field, following an old looking wooden sign pointing to London, hoping she didn't jump back in time to the middle ages, or any other time before slavery ended.

#######################################

The night was dark and the bombing flashes were the only lights. He was looking thoughtfully out of the window, sipping whiskey. He had his trousers on, but he didn't put his shirt back on.

"As much as I'd like to keep... this... going", he said, gesturing between him and the bed, "...we should really start discussing business".

She rolled out of the sheets and sat on the bed.

"Getting hasty, Captain Jack?", she smiled.

"You're the one running out of time, honey", he said, opening his wristband flap. Something quickly crossed his mind, and suddenly his charmed face turned dark and suspicious again. He drew his eyes across the room, and again to the naked girl.

He sat on the bed, slightly leaning over her, gently caressing her arms.

He started kissing her neck and shoulder, and grabbed her wrist. "Where's your vortex manipulator?", he asked her, hissing.

She bit her lip, stretching her legs under his weight.

"I... took it off earlier", she lied, moaning.

"Bullshit", he said, turning her head with his hand under her chin, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm the one who undressed you", he added, breathing an inch away from her lips.

"Why is it so important?", she whispered, running her finger on his spine.

He lingered under her touch, his hair caressing her cheeks as he moved to kiss her neck, softly.

"Because if you're not a time agent...", he said, releasing her wrist to grab the small of her back, "you're just wasting my time".

"Am I?", she asked, slowly sliding under him so he was completely on top of her.

He stroked her from under her arms to the hips, with a soft and firm touch, then ran a hand to her breast and grabbed her chin again, crushing his lips on hers.

Zoe felt her body melt. This kiss was a lot more hungry and excited than the one that led them to the bedroom in the first place, after he stole a halter dress for her and invited her to dinner in a smoky basement, mostly populated by soldiers, underage girls and older ladies. He had kissed her gently, whispering something about hoping she was from far enough a future in which the concept of _decency_ and _prudeness_ had evolved to more liberal ideas, and had only moved his heavy hands on her exposed spine once they were outside the bar, crushed against a wall in the alleyway.

It didn't take long for both of them to enjoy their shared common grounds on _decency_ and _prudeness_, and as soon as they were in the room, he swept her off her feet and unbuttoned her green silk dress, while she slipped her hands under his coat and started picking at his shirt buttons.

Now, though, it was a lot different. He was literally over her, his hands gaining control of every inch of her body, his lips leaving her breathless, as his tongue danced with hers, in a fierce struggle for power.

She could feel him between her legs but he suddenly stopped, gasping for air, abruptly dropping beside her. She lifted her head to look at him, catching breath, and lay on her side to face him.

He ran a hand on her side, gently, from her hand to her hip, taking in the soft texture of her pearl skin, and rested his hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer, sliding an arm under her neck.

She rested her head on his chest while he absentmindedly caressed her thin spine.

"How did you end up here?".

"I don't know".

"What do you mean, you don't know? You... you just time travelled?".

"Apparently".

His hand moved now to her head, gently picking her hair.

"Who are you?".

"I'm Zoe Richards, props maker", she laughed sadly. taking a deep breath, but she really didn't know what to say. "I'm just lost".

"In 1941".

"Yes".

"Without means of time travel".

"That's the catch".

He looked at her with a doubtful frown. "Where are you from?".

"I'm afraid I no longer know. I jumped back here from 2008 London. I was... traveling with friends". She paused, thinking. "I was thinking of leaving them a message, but this is world war II. I don't exactly know what survives through".

"_Time_ traveling with friends?", he repeated, but didn't wait for her answer.

"Did you sleep with me just because you saw the vortex manipulator?".

She laughed.

"Jack, you seem pretty confident enough without me saying this, but there was no way I wouldn't have slept with you. I don't even...-".

"My pleasure, _really_", he cut her off. "To be honest, I don't care if you're a time agent or a... time _stray_", he said, kissing the top of her head. "Although, this body of yours, I wish you'd applied for the Time Agency back when I was working there".

"Oh", she said, suddenly lifting her chin to look at him. "So you're not a time agent either".

"I'd rather call myself a criminal", he smirked.

"Mmm...", she moaned, "...sexy".

He drew her closer and kissed her again, softly.

"I can't help you", he added.

"Let's think about it later", she cut him off, rolling on top of him and leaning over to kiss him.

With an instinctive reflex, he placed a hand on the small of her back and turned with her, leaning on his other arm to gently lay her down, while she started unbuckling his belt.

##########################################

Luckily, the country pebbled road she had been walking down for the last hour ended in a modern, asphalted road, leading to a small village. The dark night surrounded Martha, as she approached the first houses, walking under the dim light of streetlamps.

She found the high street and looked around at the shops, shut down for the night. There wasn't even the usual 24 hours off-licence, no supermarkets, no mobile parlors. She started to work her mind around the date when she reached the newsstand.

Martha pushed her forehead on the window to look at the inside, beyond her reflection, but she couldn't see the dates. Curiously, she thought she recognized someone on the cover of a magazine. She smiled.

She was distracted by a bunch of people, running out of a house to a car so small she wondered how they fit in. They all wore colourful clothes and had big wavy hair. Three girls and four blokes were joking with each other, and one of the girls was poking her friends with an umbrella. They tried to push her back, and turning around, she saw Martha, at the corner with the high street.

"Oi!".

Martha looked behind her to see if there was anyone else on the street.

"Ehi, you! I love your jacket!", the girl said, pointing at Martha's red leather.

"Thanks", she said, hesitantly.

She walked closer to her.

"I love your style, really! So... futuristic!", the girl grinned.

"Oh, I love your style", Martha giggled, pushing back a mental image of herself with an afro hairdo as if she just walked out off stage from a _Hair_.

"We're going to London to squat with some friends, I mean I know the concert is next week, but it's Hyde Park! It's going to be huge! A lot of people is going to London earlier, so we thought, you know, why not. Wanna come?".

Martha gave a last glance at the newsstand inside. She knew where she was. 1969.

###################################

The morning was grim and the sky didn't look any brighter than the night before. Smoke was spreading throughout the whole city, and sirens and fire alarms were going off everywhere.

Zoe gently lifted Jack's arm and crawled out of the bed. She looked at his wrist, thoughtfully. She squeezed in her skirt and top, and put her boots on. She tried to call the TARDIS again, but the phone had no signal. It didn't surprise her - she was in the middle of the blitz, and she wasn't sure of how phones worked back then, but she ruled out satellites pretty soon. Now, that thing on Jack's wrist though...

As soon as she tried to touch it, he grabbed her hand, trapping it between his own and the vortex manipulator, while with the other he pointed a gun to her temple.

"Forget it, Richards", he hissed, coldly.

She cautiously raised her hands.

"Sorry, ok? I wasn't trying to steal it or anything! I just wanted to take a look".

"Oh, yeah, sorry for snapping, well, I don't believe you", he said abruptly, twisting her arm.

"Ouch!", she said, wiggling her wrist.

"Sorry", he said, suddenly pushing her on the bed, and then added, "Don't try that again".

"You have my word", she said breathlessly, as he pulled her skirt off. With his strong arm, he shoved her to the middle of the bed and laid on top of her, stroking her hair back, pulling at the base of her neck to expose her chest. She took grip over his shoulders and relaxed her legs to let him in. It was quick but passionate, and they both felt they had proved a point. _Yep, the sex was great. The conversation wasn't going that good, though_, Zoe thought.

**To be continued... Please please please, review, you lovely readers!**


	18. Call me Chloe

**18 - Call me Chloe**

Jack had left earlier, probably for work, although he hadn't explained exactly to Zoe what job it was. She knew he was volunteering in the army for his _business_, or rather_ criminal business_, but he wasn't willing to discuss it with her once he learned she wasn't a time agent after all.

She rolled in the bed and let the finally quiet light from outside brush her face. They had spent almost all that day in bed. Zoe was aware that she should have focused on returning to her timeline, but Jack was handsome and apparently unsatiable, and _it had really been a while_ since she last had sex. Travelling with the Doctor and Martha was a big adventure, but one that left little time to _socialize_.

"So... playing honeymoon with Jack Harkness, I'm so going to regret it".

She heard a familiar voice, and opened her eyes to focus on the slender figure sitting on the edge of the bed. A black haired girl, with a ponytail just slightly longer than her own's, turned around to wink at her.

Zoe jumped back to the headboard in shock. Of course that voice was familiar, _it was her own voice_.

"Fuck", she said.

"Oh come on now, you were dying to meet me since you heard me talking with the Doctor", she smirked.

Zoe was still silent. Her other self was wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt and leather leggings, and her same boots.

"What... what are you doing here?", she said, her voice trembling, as she crawled out of the bed and started getting dressed again.

"I wanted to stop you, or me, from doing something you, or well, I, or, how can I say? _We_, we will regret, as I said. Gee, the grammar in talking to other selves is always messy", she replied. She had a smug and ironic grin, and Zoe didn't like it that much. "But then I saw you laying there and I remembered, good old Captain Jack is such a good shag, we'll deal with the consequences sometime else". She winked again, fiddling with her necklace.

Zoe raised her eyebrows, confused.

"Are you saying me and Jack... we stay in touch?".

"Oh, yes. Now though, we just need his help, although he won't know".

Zoe laced her boots.

"Don't tell me it's about the vortex manipulator. I barely touched it and he pointed a gun at me".

"Of course it's the vortex manipulator, and you will get it".

"But I...", she tried to understand, as she felt the cogs in her mind work furiously.

"You're clever, figure it out, child", she smiled.

Zoe averted her own stare, and rolled her eyes to the ceiling, then turned to her.

"Of course I will, because it's already happened to you, right? And the only way for you to be here is if I get it", she said, watching her other self smile approvingly. "Or, _because_ I get it".

"Told ya we're clever".

"This is very..." she started, and at the same time they both finished the sentence, "..._Timey wimey_", they giggled.

#######################################

The Doctor didn't show up, but Martha had her phone fully charged and she knew he would call anytime, because the TARDIS could boost any signal and turn it into a decent phone call.

Martha had been squatting with the hippies for two days now, not that she had many other options, but although she was trying to stay away from drugs, which unsettled the others, she was having a good time.

"Have you heard about this moon landing everyone's buzzing about?", a bloke with shoulder lenght hair told her. "Can you believe it? Man on the moon".

Martha smiled, holding back a giggle.

"What if extraterrestrials show up? Aliens?", the bloke kept ranting, waving a beer can in the air.

"Yeah, we should watch it happen", she replied.

"Oh, yeah", he said, suddenly turning thoughtful. "Someone here must know someone with a television".

######################################

Future Zoe explained the details to her past self and was about to leave when the door burst open and Jack walked in.

His jaw dropped and he almost dropped the paper bag he was holding, with bread and cheese and a bottle of whisky.

"Jack! I thought you were... at work", Zoe said.

"Who... how...", he blabbered, looking at the second girl.

"Er, it's... this is...", Zoe started, but her other self cut in, abruptly.

"I'm Zoe's sister", she said.

"Yeah...twin sister", Zoe confirmed, although her voice was shaking. _Oh gosh this is not going to be easy_, she thought.

"Pleased to meet you, miss Richards. Captain Jack Harkness", he said, glaring at her while he politely brushed his lips against her knuckles.

"You can call me Chloe", she replied, smiling.

Zoe felt her heart explode in hearing the name, although she still had a lot of doubts. She knew time was holding the answers, but she really wished she had a way to figure it out sooner, or at least before her mind blew in processing how complicated running around with her future self could be.

Jack poured three glasses of whiskey and offered two to the girls.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now", he said, winking at them as the glasses tingled.

########################################

Luckily, superior Gallifreyan technology meant that even in clothing, the insides were bigger than the insides, and ever since meeting Sally Sparrow, the girl who ran to him in the street to give him a folder, claiming he would need it once he was stuck in 1969 without the TARDIS, he always carried it in his pocket.

He looked around but Martha was nowhere to be found, so he sat on a bench and started studying the pages. According to the transcript of the conversation, Martha would be there, so he decided to focus on finding her later.

They were in London, after all, and she would be fine. He didn't see which angel sent Zoe back to the past, but he made sure he was touched by the same one who blasted Martha, so he would land in her same year, and according to the Sally Sparrow report, somehow they would end up together again.

First things first, he needed tech. Unfortunately he didn't have any money. _Blimey that was going to take a while._

#########################################

Jack Harkness woke up feeling dizzy. The sun was setting down, and he had no recollection of how much time had passed. He pulled up his arm to check the watch and realized in horror that his vortex manipulator was gone.

Jumping up, he rubbed a hand to his forehead, trying to remember what happened.

"_What if that's the same thing _we_'re thinking", Chloe had said, cheeky, placing her hand on his shoulders, while Zoe slid on his side, clinging his waist with her arm._

_He had looked at them surprised, but his imagination wondered, and he lingered while Zoe kissed the base of his neck and Chloe let his shirt collar loose, before kissing him._

She kissed him, right. He ran a finger to his lips and ran to the mirror. A vivid red lipstick mark was on the side of his mouth, and he frowned.

"Psychic lipstick", he said to himself, looking around. Quickly, he looked at the glasses on the coffee table and picked them up, studying them against the light, then opened a pouch bag and took out a kit to collect prints from the girls.

He shoved everything in his coat pockets and ran out of there as fast as he could, thinking. His vortex manipulator was malfunctioning, and could only carry one person at the time, but they didn't know. Once they figured it out, they would need a power source to get it to work.

He remembered, not a second too late, he had shown Zoe where his ship was parked.

##########################################

The Doctor was rubbing his head at the thought that ATMs were not that spread, and he gave up the idea of sonicking one. Strolling around the city centre, he took a walk through the park.

He stopped to give an understanding salute to the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, grinning. He grinned as squirrels and leaves ran under his feet, and closed his eyes the gentle London July breeze caressed his hair, sticking them up in every direction.

It was a beautiful day, and he felt strangely positive.

"Ah! Allons-y!", he said to himself as he spotted a man, sitting behind a small wooden box, playing card tricks with passers-by. He smiled to himself and blended in the small crowd gathered there.

He studied the game for a few minutes before walking through the crowd to face the man directly.

"Hello!", he said, gently. The man looked at him.

Twenty minutes later, the man was retiring with his wooden box, and the Doctor walked away whistling, with his pockets full of cash.

##########################################

Zoe was following Chloe's instructions to create a power field strong enough to unlock the vortex manipulator for a double travel, when Jack burst in the spaceship.

"I'm a bit disappointed, girls, I really wish I could remember our threesome", he said, pointing his gun at them.

"Con or be conned, Jack Harkness. Lesson number one", Chloe said.

"I'm sorry, Jack", Zoe added, sadly. "You didn't want to help".

"I said _I can't_ help, actually". Zoe felt his sense of betrayal stinging through her. She gave her word. "I blast you to the future, half of this ship gets power failure".

"All I need is a ride", she said. "My friends are in danger".

"Well now _you_'re in danger, honey".

Chloe opened the flap and started typing coordinates. "Sorry to interrupt your first fight, child, but... I gotta go".

"What? How do I get back?" Zoe cried, unbelievingly.

"That's not my problem, _sis_. I just needed this", she winked, slamming the vortex manipulator close.

"Not that easily", he said, aiming at her.

He fired.

"No!" Zoe cried, rushing to the girl while she started shimmering, but all he could grasp was her jacket. He felt a scratch to the side of her leg, and collapsed to the floor where Chloe had just vanished.

"Shit", Jack hissed, running a hand through his hair. "Shit!" he repeated.

Zoe checked her leg, relieved that it was just a scratch. She frantically started digging in the jacket pockets. All she found was the lipstick and a newspaper article. On the corner, a set of numbers was scribbled, not in her handwriting. The Doctor's? Martha's? She turned the page and gasped when she saw herself and Martha in one of the pictures illustrating the news. _Jones and Richards_.

"Jack", she said.

"Who was her?".

"I...".

"How did she get here?".

"I don't know".

"That's not your sister".

"How do you know?".

"I was a time agent, don't play games with me, Zoe".

She felt suddenly sick, sinking under the weight of what just happened, specifically being tricked by her future self. She took a deep breath, thinking. The Doctor wasn't around to tell her what to do, or, well, what _not_ to do. Jack had pointed a gun at her, and she didn't trust him that much, but she felt he didn't deserve this.

"I can make this right, Jack", she said, looking around.

"Seriously? Do you think I'll help you? Look, you're a great shag, considering you're a girl, but you're way too much trouble, even for me", he said, cheekily. He was sitting in the pilot's chair, looking straight ahead, and just turned for a glance at her, then looked back at the window. She could see he wasn't just angry, but also troubled.

"Sorry again", she said, walking closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You already said that".

"No", she corrected, leaning on him so quickly he couldn't stop her, but long enough to kiss his lips. "Sorry _for this_".

His gaze went blank under the effect of the psychic lipstick, and she gently caressed his hair, pushing him out of the way to check the controls.

"Jack", she said, still stroking his head. "Jack, send me to 1969".

"Sure...", he replied, glaring absently at the coordinates written on the corner of the newspaper article.

"Remember this when the effect wears off", she whispered in his ear, as he started pushing buttons and levers. "I'll be back".

Maybe her future self was a selfish monster, but not yet. If no one was there to stop her, _she_ would stop _herself_.

She landed on her knees, in a red telephone box. She checked the surrounding and happily found herself in Piccadilly Circus. The people around her were all busy chattering and walking, and nobody noticed the girl appearing from nowhere. She looked around at the sign.

_Good job, Jack, good job_, she said to herself to remind herself to thank him for getting the date and location right.

She stood on her feet, and started pacing quickly in the direction of the park.


	19. Jones & Richards

**A/N Dialogue dialogue dialogue! This is to end this part of the adventure. And guess who shows up?**

**19 - Jones & Richards**

"Sorry, where did you get those?", two young girls surrounded her.

Zoe cursed in her mind. After all, punk rock would be born in London soon enough, but she didn't realize her looks were still that out of place.

"Oh, I went... to New York", she replied.

"Are you coming to the show?".

"Yes, I'm looking for a friend", she said, still walking.

"Please, come with us! You're so stylish... maybe you can get us backstage!", the girl said, pleading with her eyes.

Zoe looked at the girls' desperate gaze and sighed. She was going to the show anyway, and the idea clicked. In the picture, she and Martha were in front of the railing, so perhaps they would meet backstage.

"Okay, let's go", she said, and started walking again, chatting with the girls.

She spotted a blue wooden police phone box on the street and she leaned on it, pretending to fix her boot. To her disappointment, the door flung open, revealing the empty inside.

The stroll to the park didn't take much, and she saw three more police boxes on their way, but didn't bother to check them after the second one turned out to be another real, innocuous police box.

"Oh, there they are!", the girl on her side grabbed her sleeve and started running to a group of hippies gathered outside the park entrance. "People, this is Zoe!", she said to the others.

They all turned around glaring at her, but all Zoe could focus on, relieved, was Martha Jones's half relieved smile on the other side of the group.

"Zoe", she said, without enthusiasm.

"Martha!", she said, running to hug her firmly, "I'm so glad to see you!".

The girls around stopped to stare at them.

"Of course you know each other, you both look so great! You have great fashion sense!", one of the girls commented.

"Yes, Zoe is an... old friend", she said, again without fondness. "We haven't seen each other in a while, though".

"Yeah, almost feels like thirty years", Zoe tried to giggle, but the tension was quite blatant.

"Oh, okay, we'll give you some space. We're trying to get in at this gate here", she pointed.

"Thanks, Roxy, we'll find you later", Martha smiled.

They stepped to a kiosk, finally alone. Martha took a deep breath, as Zoe lifted her jacket to show her the marks.

"Yes, same as the last time. The Weeping Angels".

"The statues? Did those send us back?".

"Yes. Not that I know much about them", Martha sighed. "So, I guess the Doctor is not with you?".

"No", she frowned. "I didn't land in 1969, though, much earlier".

"Why am I surprised?", she groaned.

"I'm so, _so_ glad we ran into each other", Zoe replied, sipping from a paper pint. "Did he call you?". All she wanted to ask really was, _what the hell happened? Why are you mad at me?_

"No, I haven't heard from him", she said, sadly. "So how did you know you'd find me here?", Martha asked.

"I was given this", she said, showing her the newspaper page. "But finding the Doctor is not my only problem right now", she said, turning her eyes around as something caught her attention. A blue police box.

"Wow, look at us", Martha called her back, following her gaze. "Don't bother with that, I think I tried every single one left in London. Luckily enough they're almost out of date by now".

Zoe kept looking back and Martha saw Roxy, one of the girls in her group, running towards them, waving her hands.

"Martha, come on, it's about to start!".

"Yes...", she said, "Just give me a...".

Turning around, she realized Zoe was no longer there. "...minute".

################################################

_What the hell_. Zoe started running frantically. She had just caught a glimpse of the man, but she needed to get to him before he reached the doors.

"Doctor! Wait!", she called, and he turned around so quickly she hit her head in his bowtie.

"Zoeeeey!", he grinned, stretching the _e_, flipping his hair back. "What are you doing here?".

"I...Me and Martha, we're looking for you. Well, not you, a past you, I believe, but also...". She looked at him. "What's that on your head now?"

"It's a beanie. I wear a beanie now, beanies are cool".

She heard a throat-clearing sound from behind him, and she looked over the Doctor's shoulders to face a charming blonde woman with curly hair, looking at her with a frown.

"Zoe, please, can you tell me if River is cross?", the Doctor whispered.

Zoe looked at the woman. "Well, if River is the cross-looking woman here, I think that explains itself", she answered.

"Can you explain what is she doing here, now?", the woman said.

"River...", the Doctor started, awkwardly, adjusting his bowtie. "Uh, ehm, I...".

"First we land into London by mistake, then we meet her... oh my gosh! The TARDIS brought us here to let you find him!".

"I...", Zoe protested. "I wasn't looking for him, actually. Well, yes, but not _him_ him, the...".

The Doctor cut her off with a finger on her lips. "Spoilers, Richards".

"Doctor, you know I'm open, but this is not what I was expecting", River said.

"Oh crap, you're...", she looked at her, and at the Doctor, and at the park behind them, where the roadies were tuning the instruments. "You're on a date!", she giggled.

"It's not a date", the Doctor pouted. "Well it could have been, but the TARDIS didn't agree, I suppose".

"So what happened?", the woman said, resignedly, to a dazed Zoe.

"Do I know you?", she asked, but she was already pulling up her hand to check her wrist.

"Oh, you're young!", she said suddenly, in amazement, looking at the Doctor with a forgiving tender look. Zoe pulled out the pen and marked another dot in the line.

"Zoe Richards, meet Doctor River Song", the Doctor said, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh! So I'll be a Doctor?", River giggled, while the Doctor blushed.

"Look who just went _spoilers_", Zoe scolded him, smiling.

He grinned. "You two have so much in common", he sighed.

Zoe smiled at the woman, eyeing at his hat.

"Oh, don't get me started on the beanie", River said.

"Doctor, Chloe is here", Zoe warned him, suddenly focusing on the subject matter. "She stole something from a friend, and I need to get it back".

He looked at her wrist again with a confused expression, about to speak.

"Chloe?", he repeated, questioning.

"Yes... well, I mean, future me, it's just easier to call her Chloe, this is confusing enough".

River widened her eyes and glared at the Doctor, still holding her hand. He gathered his thoughts and then started to talk, hyperly.

"Right! Chloe is here, so what? Wear short sleeves", he said, grabbing Zoe's hand and dragging her back to the park entrance. "Now, let me think, 1969, Hyde Park, yes, we need to find Martha and me, then we'll deal with the vortex manipulator affair. Zoe, don't worry, I know exactly where you and Martha will find me. And Chloe. I remember it as if it just happened. Or, rather, as it will happen just in a few hours. Brilliant! Okay then, I owe you a date, River, so, how would you like to meet the band?", he flirted.

"Oh, I'd love to", she smiled cheekily.

##########################################

Martha was at the security gate, waiting for Zoe to show up, and was only half listening to Roxy's complaining about haste, and felt actually relieved when she left her, lamenting she wouldn't miss the show just because Martha had decided to be stood up by a friend.

Zoe waved at her from afar, and Martha smiled against her will.

"Martha, meet River", Zoe started. "And...".

The Doctor cut her off. "John Smith, pleased to meet you", he said, with a fond expression in his eyes, looking at Martha.

Zoe ignored the surprised feeling and spoke.

"The D... I mean, John thinks the Doctor is backstage".

"What? How? Why?", Martha blabbered.

"Why? This is history happening, Martha Jones. Where would you rather be? I..." he realized he was falling into his hyper gob too quickly, and stopped to clear his throat. "I mean, he's there because he probably thought two children of the future like you wouldn't miss this for the world. Come on, rockstars, off you go".

Martha widened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh, ok...Let's go find him, then".

"Yes, well, River and I... It's best we don't come with you. Zoe, I'll see you later", he said, "It was... good to see you, Martha", he said, sadly, pulling River's arm to drag her into the crowd.

Zoe shrugged at Martha's suspicious frown, and took her arm to lead her to the gates.

######################################

"You're being more cryptic than usual, sweetie", River said, walking away.

"I have to. Martha and I haven't seen each other since... well, for a long time".

River looked back at the black haired girl. "Why didn't you tell her? About Chloe?".

"It's not time yet", he said, as the tuning stopped.

River froze and grabbed his hand.

"We both know that time will come, River", he said, sadly. "It's only best for you if things go as supposed".

"What do you mean?".

"...Spoilers", he grinned. "Keep your eyes opened, while we're here".

###########################################

"Where do you think you're going?", the big security guard stopped them.

"Uh, we, er, we're meeting a friend backstage", Zoe muttered.

"Yeah, and I'm Elvis", he mocked them. "ID", he instructed, grabbing Zoe's shoulders.

Another guard grabbed Martha, and started digging in her pockets.

"Ehi!", she protested, wiggling.

"Uhm, Mark...", one of the guards said to the other. "I think they're with the band, actually".

He read their ID cards, while Martha mentally thanked the TARDIS for adjusting the dates wherever they went.

"Oh! Oh God, I'm so sorry, really, I'm mortified, you know, one can never be sure these days".

"Don't mention it", Zoe shrugged, straightening her jacket and lifting her chin, smugly.

"Well, Miss Richards, Miss Jones, enjoy the show", the guard said, lowering his head, handing them two backstage passes.

The girls walked through the gates, trying to hold back their smiles, but bursting into laughter just a few steps ahead.

"Oh my God, I can't believe we are really here!", Martha said, covering her mouth with her palms in shock, suddenly forgetting they were somehow in a fight.

"I know! Isn't this great?", Zoe replied, spinning on her feet.

"Sorry, ladies, can I take your picture? You could easily make it to magazine covers", a man asked. The girls exchanged a knowing look between them and turned to smile for the camera, although Zoe could sense Martha's nervousness.

"Okay, this is done", Zoe said, relieved, once the man walked away.

They started walking around, looking for the Doctor, but suddenly the music started, and the crowd screams sounded like an explosion.

The two girls started dancing, while blokes around them started spinning them around, until a few songs later Martha finally saw someone and raised her hand to wave.

Zoe turned to follow her gaze and spotted him, smiling broadly, just at the end of the stage steps. He was wearing his usual pinstripe suit, but his tie was knotted on his forehead like a headband, his shirt was unbuttoned, and he was wearing aviator sunglasses. He danced like a teenager at his first party.

As soon as he spotted Zoe, though, his jaw dropped and he turned his gaze to the side, where Zoe saw _herself_ walking to him. Slowly, holding the Doctor's glance, she raised her hands and pointed at her wrist, mouthing_ Chloe_ from the distance. Without turning his eyes, the Doctor wiggled his fingers to grab the girl's hand, while with the other hand he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

His half smile turned into a serious, concerned expression, while he slowly pulled her sleeve up, and before she could wriggle out of his grasp, he sonicked the vortex manipulator. She gave him a disappointed look, and turned around, to see Zoe wave at her with a mocking grin.

"Doctor!", Martha called, and he distracted just quickly enough for Chloe to vanish into the crowd on the other side of the railing.

He ran to them, his disappointed look turning again into a forced smile in seeing his girls safe and sound.

"Hello! There you are, rockstars! Are you okay?", he grinned, mostly to Martha. "Smart girls, I know you would find me here! How long have you been around? Did you miss me? I would have called, but the Angels have my good old blue box".

"We've been pointed towards here, actually. I've only been here a couple of hours", Zoe said.

"Days", Martha said, pointing at herself.

"Oh well, Jones and Richards, big event in the middle of London, I thought it was a good clue. Though, this Jones wasn't that lucky, but still, Where else would you go?", he giggled.

"Doctor, you're the only one who thinks a concert with an audience of two hundred thousand people is a smart rendez-vous point", Zoe commented.

"Oh come on! Look at where you are!", he frowned, waving his hands to hug Martha. "Don't you just love the Sixties?".

Martha was ecstatic, looking at the stage. She decided to focus on the music, instead of the Doctor and Zoe acting weird again.

"Doctor...", Zoe said, worriedly.

"Not now. According to the Sparrow report, I've called it _the Sparrow report_, do you like it? Sounds like a secret agent file, don't you think? Anyway, according to the Sparrow report, I'm afraid it will take us about two months to get the TARDIS back. We have a lot of work to do and it's the great summer of '69, can't you just enjoy rock'n'roll happening?".

"How can you be so calm?".

"Sometimes I'm just good at hijacking trouble, or at... pretending to be at ease".

"I'm afraid I'll have to take another detour", she whispered, leaning into his ear to let him hear her over the music.

His face turned concerned, then he smiled faintly at Martha, looking at her dancing, and pulled Zoe over to the side of the stage, keeping an eye on the other girl.

"I didn't know how to warn you", Zoe said, concerned. "I'm sorry".

"Not your fault", he said, bitterly, taking his sunglasses off.

"Now don't patronize me", she angrily retorted. "I'm starting to understand a few things, now that I've met... her", she added.

He shrugged.

"Is this why you're so worried about me?", she said. "You can't see my timeline and at some point I turn into some tricky... _bastard_", she said, silently wondering if the Doctor would scorn her if she went with a different, much worst word. Starting with c-.

He looked into her eyes.

"You're afraid you'll do something, or miss something, and that _she_ is your fault", Zoe said, waving her hands in the air.

He opened his lips to speak, but took his time.

"I... Er... Zoe", he said, cupping her face in his hands in frustration. "We can't discuss this now, you're... you came back late. Something happens, and I can't tell anything else or I'd probably get mad at you again, but... Time... Time can be rewritten", he said.

"Then don't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders".

He nodded, with a sad giggle, letting go of her face.

"Quite right", he replied, swaying on his toes.

"So... I'll have to go and find her, get the vortex manipulator back and make my way back to 1941, where, oh, I'll probably get stuck again".

He widened his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, pulling them on his forehead and pinching his nose bridge.

"1941", he repeated, sighing. now with a dark angering tone. "I bet you... Oh! Why, why... anyway, well, right, nevermind", he blabbered. "I've... I locked the vortex manipulator with the show power generator for a while, she won't be able to shimmer away until the end of the concert. The only thing she can do is locate the TARDIS, and, you know, the TARDIS isn't here".

Zoe blinked vividly. "Thank you".

"Well, we still need to settle some things between us, but I thought you might use a head start".

"No, thank you for understanding why you can't help me in this".

"Your wrist, the line is longer. I think I am helping you, although not now, hm?", he said, with a faint smile. "I wish you could stay, though. It's going to be fun. You shouldn't miss it just because I'm still mad at you".

"Oh, I wish I could meet them too. Tell Martha I'll kill her with my bare hands if she doesn't snog the unbelievably sexy young Mick Jagger", she winked at him, trying to ignore that in that short conversation he stressed the fact they were supposedly still on a fight. He groaned at her comment, and wiggled his fingers close to his face to wave her goodbye.

"Zoe!", he called, as she turned, pulling the backstage pass off her neck. "If you find a way back, I'll wait for you in 2008, don't forget. The least you owe me is an explanation".

"It's a date!", she waved from the distance, forcing herself to keep a happy tone but his cold and emotionless mood had beaten her down. She easily disappeared in the crowd, where she had last seen the Doctor and River.

She looked around in the overexcited crowd, feeling guilty about wasting time, but she wasn't just listening to the show, she kept scanning the faces around. A few songs later she gave up on finding them in the crowd, and decided to walk back to the TARDIS alone, when she stumbled into Roxy.

"Zoe!"

"Roxy, right?", she asked to the bright girl. "Sorry, I have to go".

"What? And miss this? Why?".

Zoe smiled. "I have a situation to deal with. Tell you what, you can have this, though. Better not waste it", she said, "Make sure you don't throw it away, it might be an expensive

memorabilia someday".

She ran away, while the girl unbelievingly looked at the backstage pass Zoe had just left in her hands.

She crossed the road and was about to walk to the police blue box, when she saw her future self strolling around the other side of the street. She walked around slowly to catch her in surprise, and grabbed her wrist.

"Why are you so interested in the TARDIS?", she snapped.

"Oh, I should have seen this coming. Look, are you really so stupid you won't trust yourself?".

"Right now my brains are telling me not to trust you, whatever version of me you are".

The girl laughed hard.

"Oh, you're so naive, I remember it. But you know, I can see now! You're being manipulated, don't you see? They're all using you, the Doctor, Jack, they don't know who you are and they're all friendly, just wait until you find out your true self".

"They're not _tha_t friendly, actually, and that's all thanks to you!", Zoe snarled.

"I'm only here to lead you to the right path, child", she smirked.

"I think you're only here because you wanted to find the TARDIS and you knew where to find me. Why can't you live in your own timeline and stop messing with me? Don't you think this is complicated enough?".

"I'm you, remember? You don't know what you're talking about", she mocked her.

"_You_ don't know what you're talking about", a harsh voice said from behind her.

Zoe raised her gaze to see River pointing a gun at her future self, while the Doctor walked over to her. His eyes were cold and dark, and Zoe's mind suddenly raced to leather-jacket-Doctor and his furious rage. She shivered. _Yep. Very same man_.

"This is not yours", he said, unfastening the vortex manipulator from her wrist, and tossing it to River, without looking.

She was holding his gaze, but Zoe could tell her legs were silently shaking. The Doctor could be terrifying, she was starting to learn that, and something told her she wouldn't shake that feeling away too soon.

"Doctor, please", her future self pleaded.

"Shut up, Chloe. I know who you are. You're only alive because of me, and I can take that back anytime", he hissed. "Anytime!" he repeated, raising his deep voice.

Both present and future Zoe trembled. River was still holding the gun.

"Really? Can't I just shoot her at once?", she groaned.

"Oi! That's still me you're threatening!", Zoe snapped.

"Ehi, I'm kind of saving your arse here".

"Ladies, please!", the Doctor cut in, snapping his fingers to open the TARDIS doors. "Let me handle this. Inside. All of you", he instructed them, leading future Zoe inside, still holding her arm.

"I didn't know he could open the TARDIS just with a snap", Zoe commented.

"He said I told him he could, so please don't tell him", River whispered knowingly in her ear.

Once inside, future Zoe collapsed to the floor, in fear, her eyes wondering in gaze around, avoiding eye contact with the Doctor.

"Where are you, Chloe?", he said, leaning over the railing, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Like I'd tell you", she said, standing up.

"You so shouldn't be here. You messed up. Again!", he laughed.

"You won't kill me, Doctor. I know you. Better than anyone else in this big room of yours", she said.

"Don't push me, Chloe", he hissed, as he walked to her, menacing.

"Too bad", she said, fierce, slowly walking backwards. "Too bad you're the one pushing me, dear", she said, taking the last step to touch the console.

"No!", River screamed, as she vanished into golden light.

The Doctor let out a frustrated giggle. "Always", he commented.

"Seriously? Again?", River snorted.

"I thought you said you were going to fix it! You taught me how to drive the TARDIS, the last time I saw you!", Zoe protested, still confused.

"I can't believe you let her go", River repeated.

"Doctor! What happened to her?", Zoe cried.

"Ladies...", he scolded them. "River. Put that gun away, please? And Zoe. The TARDIS is on our side, you know, here, look", he said, grabbing her hand and placing it firmly on the console. The girl gasped, but she was still there.

"Brilliant! Now, unfortunately we can't go to 1941 with the TARDIS, because, of, well, timey wimey. You can use Jack's vortex manipulator, then we'll plan something to bring you back".

"Gee, great, Doctor. Can't we plan a way to bring me back now?". She gave it a thought. "Wait, how do you know about Jack?".

"Don't interrupt, Zoe. River?", he said, wiggling his fingers to her, expectantly, until she answered.

"Spoilers", she said, tapping quickly on the TARDIS keyboard.

"Exactly".

"Now, let me set this up for you", he said, trying to adjust the coordinates that River handed him on the vortex manipulator, without success, He shook it a couple of times, rubbing his forehead, then pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

"Right, almost forgot", he added, sonicking the thing back to its original functions.

He waved it in his hands, holding the sonic screwdriver with his teeth, dancing his finger in the air as if drawing on an imaginary blackboard.

"1941, tricky one. I'm in London, Jack is in London, messy enough, well, all right, then, Cardiff!", he mumbled, gesturing theatrically. "Cardiff?", Zoe wondered, but he kept his thinking aloud. "Cardiff, there's a rift in time and space that runs just under Cardiff, that's why there's the Torchwood base, oh! No, Jack's in Cardiff in 1941, gosh, there's enough Jacks in Cardiff as it is, better not mess with that too...

River and Zoe were now exchanging bored glances.

" but, if you could meet the Torchwood team in 2008 without... Gwen! Yes! No, not Gwen, too many introductions, 2008, let me see...".

_Is he always this manic_, Zoe mouthed to River, who nodded in frustration.

"...or perhaps if you leave a message in 1941 that I can get in 2008, no, well, that didn't happen, so...".

"Oh, for Pete's sake, just sonic me!", River let out, finally.

"What?", he stopped his imaginary scheming hands in mid-air.

"Doctor, just sonic my vortex manipulator! I'll... I'll give her a ride back and forth", she sighed.

Zoe looked at her, and at the surprised expression on the Doctor's face.

"Oh, brilliant! River Song, I could kiss you right now!", he giggled.

"I'll take that as a promise", she flirted.

He pointed his sonic screwdriver to River's wrist and fastened the other vortex manipulator to Zoe's wrist, giggling.

"See you soon, girls".

"Not if I see you first", both replied at the same time, then turned to each other and smiled, before shimmering away.

####################################

"I have to say, I really enjoyed snogging you, but it was a lot funnier when I could_ remember_ it", Jack said, his arms crossed. "Where have you been?", he yelled.

"Oh, you know, just a quick halt in the future, Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, accidentally introducing piercings into the seventies fashion. Mind you, if I wasn't such a good girl, you would have waited a lot longer".

"Why, you didn't get to hear _Sympathy for the Devil_? Guess what? I don't care!", he ironically snorted.

"Sorry Jack, I had to", she said, unfastening the vortex manipulator from her wrist.

"_Sorry Jack_, yeah", he mocked her. "I spent six hours fixing this ship, because _you had to_".

"I told you I would be back", she said, softly.

He walked slowly to her and grabbed her hand, running a finger over the dotted line, in the same way the Doctor had, weeks earlier.

"What are these?".

"I'm afraid I can't tell you".

"Right now, these dots are the only thing telling me you're the girl I slept with".

She smiled, fastening the vortex manipulator on his wrist.

"I really didn't expect to see this again".

"Where I come from, people usually say _thank you_".

"Chloe", he said, "She's a future version of you, right?".

She opened her lips, but didn't speak.

"I ran a little DNA test, while you were playing hide and seek", he smiled. "Now I consider myself omnisexual, but having sex with yourself, that usually means something else...".

"Jack, you can dream about it if you like, but I didn't have a threesome with you and my future self, you fainted as soon as I kissed you", she grinned.

"Some girls just make me melt, you know" he winked. "And... some girls are kinkier than others".

She laughed, blushing.

"I have to go", she said. "I managed to get a ride".

"Oh, why didn't you ask? I could have blasted you", he ironically said.

"Shut up", she started saying, but he grabbed her elbows and crushed his lips on hers, ardently coiling her tongue into his, and again she was left breathless. She lingered in his touch for an instant, then pulled back.

"I have a feeling I'll see you again, Captain Jack Harkness".

"Looking forward to it, miss Richards".

################################

**A/N If I had a time machine I'd definitely go and watch the Rolling Stones play in Hyde Park in the summer of 69. Well and then I'd go straight to Woodstock. Anyway I chose Richards as Zoe's last name before remembering Martha is a Jones but once I realized the connection I just had to put the Rolling Stones somewhere :) hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think.**

**I'll try to update again before the end of the month but I'm really distracted by all those cool athletic people sweating in London for our enjoyement. **


	20. Please don't let me be misunderstood

**A/N sorry this update was a little slower than the others... I'm back at work so I don't have much time. Bear with me! XX**

**20- Please don't let me be misunderstood**

"Whoa", River said, shaking her arms, "I don't know how you can survive that as a human".

"Survive what?", Zoe wondered, rubbing her head.

"Time travel without a capsule".

"It's more like a jump than a proper travel", Zoe mumbled. "And it's usually very fast, I never had the time to stop and contemplate".

"I'm afraid you will g-... nevermind", she cut off.

"Spoilers?", Zoe giggled.

River smiled, adjusting the new coordinates on the vortex manipulator, before looking at the girl with a mixed look of wonder and disappointment.

"What?".

She sighed and lifted a hand to stroke Zoe's cheek.

"I wish I'd met you in the right order. We could have been good friends".

Zoe raised her eyebrows. "Uhm... Thank you?", she replied, hesitantly.

River looked at her with a serious look.

"This Doctor you're travelling with... I have the feeling he doesn't know me yet. Please don't mention me".

"I know. I'm far from being the smartest one in that box, but I'm beginning to understand timey-wimey".

River laughed again, cheekily.

"Oh, you're just as clever as all of them", she said, and pushing a button she disappeared.

Zoe checked her surroundings, glad to see the familiar election banners, shouting _Vote Saxon_ in big capital letters. She looked around, not recognizing the street where they appeared, and smiled in finding the blue police box with the doors opened, and she walked in.

"Anyone in?" she called.

The Doctor and Martha popped up from behind the console, in a sea of scattered tools. As soon as he saw her, he groaned and his face turned into a frown, then he crouched down again.

"Hello", he said, emotionless.

"Hi", Martha said, a hint of weariness in her voice.

She looked at them in awkward silence, rubbing her hair. _Yep. Still mad_.

"Martha, pass me that black keypad", he said, and Martha turned around to search in the mess of items on the floor. Zoe stepped forward and crouched to pick up the thing they were looking for, and walked to him.

"Here", she said.

He looked up at her and took the tool from her hand.

"Thanks", he muttered, connecting it to the mainframe with his sonic screwdriver.

Zoe turned to Martha, who was looking at her with a severe look, and pulled her aside.

"Martha, why is the Doctor cross at me?".

She snorted an ironic laughter.

"What did you expect?".

Zoe focused on the girl's gaze and realized Martha was still cross at her as well.

"Really? I thought it was established that I'm missing something here", she said with a sigh, pulling up her jacket sleeve and checking the dots, although she didn't need to count them to know they were twenty-two. "Did Chloe show up again?".

A clashing metallic sound came from under the console, and the Doctor followed jumping up, grabbing her hand a little too aggressively, twisting her wrist.

"Ouch!", she cried._ River brought me back at the wrong spot. I've crossed my own path. Again._

The Doctor sighed.

"You're late again", he said, scruffing his hair in frustration.

Martha stepped closer, pouting, and checked her wrist.

"Yeah, you... you skipped a bit forward before the last time we saw you".

"1969? I left you with the Stones in Hyde Park, what happened? You seemed pretty confident with the... _Sparrow report_".

"That worked just fine", the Doctor cut in.

"It's what happened _before_", Martha blurted.

"Martha... leave it", the Doctor said, his hands in his pockets.

Zoe looked at them sideways, worried.

"Why, what happened?", she asked, but the answer was sealed under blank looks. "Right, you can't tell me. Am I supposed to just stay around while you two brood and look at me like I've killed someone or...", the thought flashed like electric shock. "Oh my god, did I kill someone?".

The Doctor let out a forced giggle.

"No, no, you didn't kill anyone". He sighed, again. "Look, you... you left a while ago".

_I left?_

"And I didn't know if you were to show up again", he added.

"I don't understand", Zoe said.

"I know", he replied, politely, then spinned around the console, pushing buttons and levers in his usual manic way, but Zoe felt his discomfort.

"So, girls, randomizer?", he said, giving them a forced smile.

"Whatever", Martha grunted.

They landed a few minutes later and the Doctor sprung the doors open.

"Here we are! Anything can be beyond those doors! Ah! This is a bit anticlimatic...", he said, as he walked outside in what looked like a park in full winter.

"Where are we?", Zoe asked.

He picked some withered leaves from a tree and licked them, stopping awkwardly when he noticed the disgusted look on Zoe's face.

"Er... Madeline", he said. clacking his tongue. "No, wait. Adeline. No! Madeline. Definitely".

"What should we know?", Martha said.

"Madeline! Brilliant! It's part of a twin planet system. Madeline and Adeline orbit around each other. Gravity co-dependant. They share a lot more than that, though, the two planets are complementary to each other. What one has, the other hasn't. One can't live without the other. Great civilization based on sharing resources for mutual greatness", he said, almost reverent to the idea.

"Like in a well arranged wedding?", Martha said.

"Doesn't look that great to me", Zoe commented, looking around.

"No it doesn't, does it? It should be spring by now", he confirmed.

A vehicle drove quickly towards them, It looked like an old rural tractor, and they had to cover from the gas.

"Trespassers! There!", an old man screamed, aiming at them with an old-looking shotgun, while a girl tossed an electric wired mesh at them.

The Doctor quickly extracted his sonic screwdriver and with the other hand, twisting his arm, he grabbed the mesh before it trapped them,

"Look, Pa, they have technology!", the girl said.

"No need to be aggressive! Sorry, we're just a little lost!", the Doctor cheered to the odd couple on the tractor.

"I'm afraid being lost makes you outlaws. You will have to come with us to the Capital", the old man said. "Pick'em up, Nina", he said to the girl, as she grabbed their arms and pushed them on the back of the tractor. "You'll have to help me this time", he added.

"Oh, Pa! We're going to the Capital! I can't believe it! I waited all my life to see the Palace".

The drive took about an hour and the landscape was far from the greatness the Doctor had anticipated. The land was grey and almost desertic, the air was cold and dim and there was almost nowhere around.

"What happened here?", the Doctor asked the farmer. "This used to be a flourishing planet... and where is everyone?".

The man took a breath and answered, sadly.

"You haven't been here in a while, yes? It's been like this for sixteen years. Since the Separation Madeline has been without water. Everyone able to work is been redirected to underground extraction".

"What about Adeline?", the Doctor asked again.

"They closed the borders, and decided there would be landing without expensive taxes. We used to exchange their water with our minerals, and now they're out of minerals. The whole planet returned to a primitive state. Me and Nina, we're from Adeline, but we can't go back".

"Martha, remember you thought it was a well-arranged wedding? I'm thinking it didn't end well".

##################################

The Capital palace was decadent, only a shadow of his past glory. The young girl, Nina, looked around in amazement. They walked past a dry system of pools culminating in an empty fountain.

They heard a loud noise while they entered the palace, and the Doctor turned to see a faint drop of water sprinting from the central fountain, while guards and soldiers ran to check it.

They were escorted to a big hearing room, where guards were surrounding a bored-looking young man sitting on a throne. He saw them walk in and spoke.

"What brings you here, old Pepper? Please don't tell me you're begging for your old job back, not again".

"Prince Ty, I'm bringing in trespassers. They were found on the land", the man answered, taking his hat off.

Prince Ty jumped up, suddenly curious, and ran quickly towards them.

"Trespassers", he smiled, "Interesting. Spies? I thought Adeline gave up on espionage a long ago. New faces, though... good!", he said, leaning over Zoe until his face was merely an inch from hers.

"We're not from Adeline", Zoe said, before the Doctor could stop her.

The Prince wiggled his hand to one of the guards, who handed him a device, and he pointed it at them.

"Interesting... the Doctor from Gallifrey? And these beauties are from... Earth", he said, lowering his tone.

"Prince Ty...", Pepper started, hesitantly.

"The prophecy can be fulfilled! _Water will run again when the lost girl, the child of another ground, will walk in the palace to restore the twins legacy_!". The Prince was cheering, and suddenly turned around to grab Zoe's hand.

"That's the prophecy?", Martha asked.

"The Royal families of Madeline and Adeline always had twin heirs, until twenty years ago. The families could not bond because there was not a suitable partner for our prince".

The Doctor felt his spine shiver, and slowly grabbed Martha's hand.

"I'll take this one, thank you", the prince said, quickly pushing Zoe to them. "Guards, prepare her for the wedding".

"What?", Zoe cried, in disbelief.

"Prince, these girls are mine", the Doctor said, taking a step forward. "They're not available for marriage", he added, serious.

Zoe looked at the Doctor, astonished, repeating "_Mine?_", but the Prince cut him off.

"Mister, it is not legal to have more than one wife on Madeline since the Separation, but you can consider yourself lucky... since this one doesn't even seem to agree with you, I'll spare you from choosing", he said, pushing Zoe further into the guards' control.

They took her away, as she kept screaming. "No! Wait..., No!".

The Prince looked at her angrily, and suggested something in a guard's ear, while the Doctor frowned, rubbing his head trying to stop the guards.

"She... She's not... she's not the girl from your prophecy. She doesn't even know this planet!", the Doctor pleaded to the prince.

"Doctor, your legends have reached Madeline several times. It is said you are a man of wisdom, travelling the universe to bring peace and justice. This time, you've brought us peace and justice. And for this I will spare your lives, and I hope you and your wife can attend the wedding tomorrow morning. You and your daughter will be rewarded with an invitation too, Pepper".

"No! Wait!", the Doctor said, as the guards escorted them outside, not too gently. Martha was surprised to see the fountain running full capacity, and the pools slowly filling.

Nina took a last look at the palace interiors, while they were harshly put back on the tractor.

"Doctor, the water... Can it really be?".

"Oh, no, there must be a fairly logical reason for the fountain to have started working just as we walked past it. Zoe is... She can't be... She's not some girl from a prophecy".

"But...".

"She's not".

###############################################

Martha spent the night at Pepper and Nina's house, while the Doctor tried to enter the Palace with the TARDIS to take Zoe away, but the Palace had a protection magnetic filter that made it impossible for the TARDIS to land there.

He tried everything to set her free, but the guards were very keen on not letting him. The planet had been suffering for years, and everybody believed in the prophecy. The only thing he managed, late that night, was to visit her.

"Not much of a wedding suite, hm?", he told her through the cell bars.

She lifted her eyes and looked at him.

"Doctor! Get me out of here!".

"I can't", he said, nodding to the guards on his side.

"Please, don't make me marry that man!".

"I'll do my best", he said, looking at her. "But he sounded very convinced, and you doubting me didn't exactly help".

"I was surprised! Since when do you go around calling me and Martha _yours_?".

"It was the only thing I could say! You just had to feel insulted and diminished, didn't you?".

"It sounded very... possessive, Doctor. I've been through that before, and I didn't like it", she scolded him.

"Yes, look where that brought you. And do me a favour, try to wear a skirt that doesn't look like a _belt_ next time, would you?".

"What?", she said, unbelievingly, looking at her outfit, the same she had been wearing since she landed in 1941: cropped leather jacket, that now dirty fitted striped top, and the short black skirt the Doctor was referring to. "How... How is this related to what I'm wearing?"

"The TARDIS wardrobe has a pretty fair selection of 21st century clothing, but you just have to run around like you're... _auditioning_! You could use a little more fabric sometimes, that's all I'm saying".

"Sounds like _what you're saying_ is this is my fault! It's just the way I dress!"

"Well it's too..._eye-catching_!", he blurted, and almost immediately regretted it, in seeing Zoe's blushing face through the bars.

They stood in an awkward silence for an instant, looking at each other, when they heard steps.

"Well, Doctor, too bad she's mine now", the Prince said, approaching him. "Quite a remarkable pretty thing, she is. Doctor, my guards have been kind enough to let you talk to her, but now be fair, and leave the bride rest before her big day", he said, escorting him away.

He turned to give her a last look, his eyes wandering to the bars, the small window, the walls, and finally settled on her. She gave him a faint, embarassed smile. He nodded, knowingly, and gave her a sincere and reassuring wink.

A few minutes later, he was back at Pepper's house.

"How did it go?", Martha said, running to him.

He shook his head negatively, silent, and walked to the fireplace.

"Doctor!", Martha chased after him. "Talk to me... please".

"Martha, I need to think this through. Do you mind?".

She looked offended.

"I'm sorry", he muttered, honestly, realizing Martha was just... being Martha.

"Ever since she appeared again, you're restless".

"We need to get her out".

"Yeah, of course. We always need to get her out".

"Marthaaa..." he frowned. "It's not her fault", he said, replaying their earlier conversation.

"I know. But you have to admit, she has an appetite for trouble".

"Stop it".

"I'm saying, she's always... saying the wrong thing, or going the wrong place, or pushing the wrong button, asking the wrong questions...and-".

"But that's exactly what _we_ do, me and you, all the time, but it's never been a problem for you, is it?", he replied, seriously. "I thought we were past... you know, that thing".

She stood silent for a while, pondering her words.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect her to be back, that's all".

"Yeah. To be honest, neither did I", he answered, looking at the fire.

Nina walked in, carrying a tray with a steaming teapot.

"Oh, I'd like a cuppa! Great idea, Nina!", he said, cheering, trying to change his own mood, but the girl saw right through it.

"You shouldn't be sorry for your friend", she said. "Being princess is a great honour. She will have the chance to set things right. She could... start peace negotiations, and bring both planets back to their thriving", she added, looking longingly at the distant palace, out of the dirty window.

A warming thought crossed the Doctor's mind. He knew what to do.

##########################################

"Why should I trust you, _Time Lord_?", the Prince said.

"Oh but Prince, it's so easy!", Martha jumped in. "Don't you see?".

The whole ceremony had stopped before even beginning, and Zoe was standing beside the Prince at the center of the room, in a long evening gown, embroidered in white pearl beading. Her pale skin made her shine in the dim. The Doctor and Martha had brought Nina to face the Prince, while Zoe tried to slip out of the unconfortable stiletto open toe shoes.

"She has the ideas, and the drive, to bring this world to peace, and she will be happy... she will be honoured to do it, for this country's sake!".

"But the prophecy...", the Prince said, starting to sound doubtful.

"The prophecy is about the twin planets, not the heirs", Zoe figured out, and the Prince gave her a hopeful look.

"Nina was born on Adeline. She walked in here with us yesterday for the first time. She's the one the prophecy is about", the Doctor added.

Nina gave the Prince a shy smile, while Martha, relieved, looked at Zoe.

The girl ran to them and the Doctor hugged both girls, before quickly drawing back, awkwardly, pulling Zoe away.

One of the guards returned Zoe's clothes to her, and they said their goodbyes as soon as Nina was wearing the beautiful pearl white gown.

Once back in the TARDIS, Zoe took a relieved breath, but sensed the Doctor was still uncomfortable with her, as he quickly disappeared from the console room.

"Martha", Zoe said. "Can't we move on from whatever happened the last time you two saw me?" _Since I don't know what that was_.

"The Doctor was right from the beginning. You bring trouble, wherever you go", she said, not answering her question.

"Martha...", Zoe called, but didn't know what to say. She did bring trouble, she always did, before and after meeting the Doctor.

"I like you, Zoe, I've always been on your side. But you... gah!", she grunted. "You're putting him through... I don't know, I'm... You always are the center of attention" she cried, frustrated.

"I don't know what happened, but... we're roommates, aren't we? Can't we talk about it once I've been through that too?".

"See, the thing is, I was really worried about you! I should be mad, but I can't be angry at you, and it's unfair!".

Zoe stood silent, for a while, and Martha spoke again.

"John Smith".

"Who?"

"John Smith, the man who was with you at Hyde Park, that's... that's the Doctor in the future, isn't he?".

"I can't tell you that", Zoe replied, sadly.

"The Doctor, he says you know him in the future. That was him, am I right?".

"Martha, please", she tried desperately to cut off the subject.

"Am I there?", Martha reluctantly asked. "Am I still travelling with him, in that future?".

Zoe was speechless, and literally out of words.

"Yeah, just what I thought", Martha commented, harshly. "See you later, roomie", she said coldly, walking to the stairs.

"Martha! Wait, I...", Zoe started, when the Doctor appeared.

"What's going on here?", he said, confused.

"Ask your _girlfriend_ there", Martha smirked.

"What?", he blinked in bewilderment, as Zoe jumped up.

"Martha! This is not fair! You know that!".

"Enough, both of you!", the Doctor said, raising his fingers to silence them.

Martha and Zoe looked beaten.

"I'm not having this. No catfights in the TARDIS, girls", he said, angry. "Gosh, you both are so... _human_!", he snorted.

"Oh, please, don't start insulting species", Zoe said, her arms crossed.

"As if you were such a clever man", Martha said to the Doctor.

"I said shut up, both of you!". He said, suddenly raising his voice, while trying to keep it under control.

Zoe felt the Doctor fighting with his own temper as she realized whatever happened before she supposedly left must have been serious, but he couldn't blame her now for what she hadn't done yet. Martha, on the other hand, was still looking very cross.

That was hardly what she hoped she'd find once back to her present. She had hardly slept in days, with the console experimenting, before walking with them in the haunted mansion outside London, where a Weeping Angel threw her to 1941, then in 1969, back to 1941, and a dungeon on Madeline.

"I'm growing tired of this non-linear timeline thing", Zoe snorted. When the Doctor was not in the mood, it was even harder to talk to him and the thought didn't sound appealing. An idea crossed her mind. Crazy enough, but still, might be better.

"But if you think I'm going to have the two of you mad at me without me even knowing why, well...", she said, snatching the medal pendant from her neck and tossing it to the Doctor, who caught it, surprised, in mid-air, "You can forget it".

Realizing it too late, the Doctor yelled.

"Zoe! No!".

But she had already took the last step to the console, and the golden light was drawing her away.

####################################################

Zoe regretted her idea the moment she opened her eyes and realized she was in a white marble room, apparently without exit. She jumped on her feet and started banging at the walls, but nothing happened.

She was in a cell.

_Bloody brilliant._

The TARDIS throwing her around had always brought her to the TARDIS, but she didn't know why, and she scolded herself for being so confident as to take it for granted, that she would land in the TARDIS once again. Since when had she started making insane decision and assumptions like that?

"Hello?", she called.

It was the Doctor's fault, in a way. All that timey wimey stuff, as he called it, the mistery and complications had one thing in common: when she jumped away from the spiky hair doctor, she was always sure that it would end well, because the other Doctor made it clear they shared a part of their lives. A part that didn't happen to her yet.

_Time can be rewritten._

Ok, no. It was wrong to just assume it would always end well.

_The Doctor can't see my timeline._

"INITIATING SCAN", a soft, polite and professional feminine voice said, almost like a stewardess on a plane.

_Zoe Richards, you idiot._

Suddenly, she felt the heaviest of the migraines setting on her head, and she wriggled on the floor convulsing. The pain was harder than anything she had ever felt in her life, worst than cold turkey, worst than her worst almost OD.

She tried to focus on the Doctor and how she felt sorry and regretful for doubting him and leaving abruptly, but she couldn't let out a sound, and she kept thrashing about until she felt all her resistance shatter, and she fainted.

#############################################

She woke up with a numb chattering sound, and the remnants of a headache. Checking her surroundings, she was surprised to see she was laying on a moss bed, wearing only a metallic cuff, under a curtain of leaves. She felt cold, but the moss wasn't moist. Actually, it was warm.

Something didn't fit in the picture, and she grabbed a leave from the branch in front of her, and confirmed her suspicion that it was fake. She stepped out of the cave-like alcove and found herself in a bizarre space, dimmed with light from above.

The wall on her left was made out of big logs, bricks and sandpaper. _Sandpaper? This is weird_, she thought. In front of her, a vespa motorbike was parked, and on it two oars were resting. Amongst the mess of scattered things on the patterned carpeted ground were a gramophone, some bowls of cereals, a tennis racket and a television turned into a fishbowl, with bubbling water, but without fish.

On a small table, a children music keyboard was connected to a kettle on one side and to a fan on the other.

She looked around in bewilderment, amazed at the bizarre set, and her feet stumbled on a set of chandeliers standing upside down from the floor. Beyond them, she saw a small glass cabinet. Attracted, she slowly stepped to it and saw it contained an Oyster card, a pen, a lipstick, some keys and some coins. A smaller case below contained several silver earrings and a rubber band. Recognizing the things, she startled on her feet and started looking around to search for her underwear and found a pile of clothes, which were oddly displayed on a set of oven dishes.

Something caught her attention in the opposite corner, and walking as carefully as possible in that clutter, she approached it. A laminated panel was carved with an enlighting inscription:

_723 - Human, 21st century._

_Holy mother of all the fucks, _Zoe thought, as a blinding azure light suddenly flooded the place, and she covered her eyes crouching to the floor, while she heard cheering noises of wonder and excitement from a side that revealed itself as a glass windowpane.

_I'm in a bloody messed-up diorama._

**Uh-oh, never a moment of peace when Zoe's around?**


	21. Numb

**A/N I didn't really time this right and now I'm crammed with work with absolutely no time left to write. Also I'm in London so I'm not exactly spending my spare time on this... oh and guess what? I actually saw a TARDIS! just out of a tube station! a lot of ideas from that :) - yeah I'm not writing but thinking thinking thinking and planning. **

21 - Numb

Unaware of her own reaction, she slowly adjusted her eyes to the light and grabbed the clothes. She slid into the alcove again and got dressed, grunting. Her underwear was there, but her clothes were gone, and she had to settle on a ridicolous ice-skating white tutu skirt and a child t-shirt that fitted on her small shoulders like a cropped tee. Luckily enough, her boots and jacket were displayed in the background in a bizarre composition with cheese packets, milk bottles and a _save the planet_ eco shopping tote.

_Ok, you can handle this. You just have to get out, you'll find a way._

She took an encouraging breath and walked out, turning her gaze to the window. Her jaw immediately dropped.

_Great. Just get out is no longer an option._

She was in a fish tank. Or rather, she was part of an exhibition displayed in a fish tank. For what she knew, she was in the _human_ tank in a planet covered in water. She approached the glass and saw a group of beings poking at her on the glass.

Some of them were bigger and she identified them as the adults. They all looked similar, like mermaids from childhood books, except their whole body was covered in shining scales and they didn't have hair. From the waist up, their bodies were humanoid shaped, while down they were like fishes of every sort.

She could easily distinguish families amongst them, some couples but most of her audience was made of groups of children. Three of them swam close to the glass and started poking and gesturing angrily, bubbling in what she assumed would be their laughter.

_Just what I needed, being bullied by teenage mermaids while trapped in a reversed fish tank._

One of the kids, with octopus-like tentacles, languidly stuck its body to the glass and started sliding, leaving a trail of goo, at which Zoe jumped back in uncomfortable distaste.

"Ehi!", she started slamming her hands on the glass.

The kid bubbled again in laughter and slid over to where her face was. _Ew, this is so gross_, she thought, and slammed her palm again.

"Ehi! Somebody!". She wasn't even sure as to who she was calling.

The annoying teenagers were still hanging around, and she started looking in her diorama to find something to help herself lure them away, frantically moving everything around without success.

The azure light flickered and a buzzing bell rang. She felt something sting her under the cuff and fainted.

When she regained consciousness, the noise was the first thing she noticed. The water outside her window glass was gone, and the display of dioramas was connected by a system of ledges for the walking audience. The light had been dimmed down again.

Again, she found herself undressed, and sprinted out of the alcove to find her clothes neatly folded in the oven dishes, again. With a frown, she dressed again, and jumped at the glass, yelling.

"Come on! Somebody talk to me! I know somebody can understand me!".

Nobody answered.

Three more shifts of light and dark, and water and air, had passed, when she finally heard voices coming.

"What do you mean, you have alive species?", a northern, deep voice was saying.

"Well, some of them were captured while still alive, and we thought it would be more educational to keep them alive", a voice said.

"What, in cages?", Zoe heard the one she could now perfectly recognize as the Doctor say in disbelief.

Frantically, she started slamming the glass with her palms again.

"Doctor! Doctor, it's me! Help me!".

He approached her window and she saw his face turn into a cheerful surprised grin, while the other, a humanoid shaped mermaid with legs, covered head to toes in bronze red scales, furrowed his brow looking at her.

"Oh, this one is nasty. It keeps doing that".

"Oi! It's she, not it! And thank you, I'd rather not be displayed naked!".

The Doctor read the panel carefully, his brow furrowed.

"Well actually, humans don't usually go around naked. And it's a female", he started. "But this is all wrong! That is definitely not a boat, humans don't lay eggs, they eat almost everything, including fish - mind you - and they don't communicate singing. Well, not most of them anyway. Who's your consultant about humans?".

"We had one, but left after we scanned this one".

"Wonder why", the Doctor muttered, suddenly fixing his gaze on Zoe, as she stuck her forehead to the glass to look beyond it.

"Doctor! Help me!", she repeated, as the light turned on, and he recognized her.

"Fantastic!", he giggled.

"It's the newest of our items", the other proudly said.

"I'm not an item!", Zoe repeated, again, frustrated.

Another mermaid with legs came close to the window, glaring at Zoe, and pulled his fellow away to whisper something aside from the Doctor, who was now looking directly at her.

"Oh isn't this just ironic? The great hunter has been hunted down. Reduced to a mere item. Karma is a bitch, isn't it? How do you feel now about everything you've ever trapped?".

"No, Doctor, it's me, it's Zoe! You must think...", she started again, when the penny eventually dropped. "You must think I'm Chloe".

"Look at you now, trapped! In a diorama! It almost makes me change my mind and leave you there!", he boasted. "No treachery for you this time, no, the always shifty Chloe is stuck and she needs my help!", he laughed.

"Oh please please I've met you before! I'm Zoe, look!", she said, pointing to her wrist.

He kept talking, while she kept screaming.

"You're..." _You're my friend. You're worried about me. You don't know who I am. You're very cross at me. I ran. I don't know who I am_. "You've met me!", she cried desperately, and then lowered her voice to herself. "...And you can't hear me".

He looked at the diorama around her in amazement, giggling, then left.

The two aliens returned, and the one who was guiding him just before spoke.

"The human is trying to communicate. Can I trust you with it?".

The other nodded, and pointed a remote control at her. She instinctively tried to remove the metallic bracelet, screaming. "No!".

When she woke up again, she felt a pair of slippery hands lifting her t-shirt.

"Oi!", she jumped back, holding onto her clothes. "What do you think you're doing?", she snapped at the man, the one who glared at her before. "We don't run around naked, thank you very much!".

"But...that's scandalous!", he said, embarassed.

"What?", she frowned.

"On this world, people only cover themselves with clothing when they're...", he said, cautiously, "er..., _mating_".

"Well I'm not from this world, in case you haven't noticed", she snarled. "But why am I surprised? You don't seem to know much about where I'm from", she sighed to herself.

"Why do you say that? All the items in your display are from the First Ancient Earth".

"Yes, yes, but, you got it all wrong".

"Oh", he said, looking sadly disappointed. "I thought I did such a good job. They gave me the highest evaluation, it was my dissertation".

Zoe couldn't help but giggle at the idea of being someone's graduation subject. "Look", she said, jumping up. "This is not for clothes. This is not how we sleep. And this...", she was pointing at random things, when she had an idea. "And... I really need my earrings back".

"Oh", he said. "I thought those were just decorations".

"No", she tried to sound convincing, "I need them to balance my... particles flux, and... you know, the... vitamines collisions, and medication supply" she said, hoping the random words would confuse him.

"Oh,_ the collisions_! I'm so sorry, in that case, I'll give them back", he said, turning to open the cabinet. She thanked her luck. Considering the results of his _graduation project_, she didn't expect him to be a genius, but neither that he would buy it so easily.

"Thanks", she said. "What's your name?".

"I'm Xela", he said, handing her the earrings. "And you?".

"I'm Zoe", she replied, already repenting what she was planning to do, as she started putting back the piercings, looking at her reflection in the window. She saw the ledges retracting like drawers. "What's going on?".

"The swimming shift is starting", he said, checking outside. "I have to go".

"Wait! What do I do if I need anything?", she asked.

"The next check is in four hours. I'll make sure they'll stop undressing you", he smiled, leaving.

The water flooded the audience space again, and she sat quietly on the vespa, leaning on the controls, bored. As soon as the light went off again, in what she recognized as a thirty minutes shift, she sneaked in the corner where the cabinets were, and with the last piercing she didn't put back into place, she started picking the lock.

"Good girl", she said to herself when the clogs clicked, and carefully replaced the items in display with various things she found on the floor, and shoved her belongings in her pockets, not before drawing two more dots on her wrist, one for the weird encounter with the cross Doctor and Martha, and one for the Doctor in the leather jacket. Just in case, she put on a shade of psychic lipstick, hoping she wouldn't need it.

Quietly, she locked the cabinet back and painfully placed the piercing back on her clavicle, where it belonged.

The lights went back on. As soon as the water washed away, the ledges reappeared, and she heard a door unlock in the back of the fairytale moss bed. As soon as she reached it, it slammed shut again with a bang.

Like the trapped animal she was, she quickly and furiously ran to the window again, where she saw a last flood of water drain away. caught a glimpse of the Doctor, talking by himself. Or rather with his sonic screwdriver.

"If I unlock the doors the water turn on, so no escaping. How long does it take to fill the aquarium?". He fiddled with the sonic screwdriver again and nearly fell when the ledge started retracting again. "I'll need something to boost the signal to lock the drains... a battery, a...".

Zoe tapped like a maniac on the glass, but he didn't hear her. She turned around and quickly started grabbing things. She moved one of the chandelier to play with the shimmered reflections on the glass.

As soon as the light caught the Doctor's eye, he turned around, and Zoe, as fast as she could, started drawing with the lipstick, but he didn't understand.

"Oh, a lipstick message?", he snorted. "How romantic!", he ironically smirked.

She frowned, and gestured, while he kept repeating his iconic _What? What?_

With a sigh, she quickly wrote backwards._ They have my mobile phone._

He looked at his sonic screwdriver, and at the message.

"Fantastic!", he exclaimed, and ran. Shortly he drew back and pointed a finger to the glass. "Not that I'm helping _you_, I'm setting everyone who's trapped here".

She smiled and gave him a little salute, at which he frowned, and ran off.

She looked around and grabbed a bottle of expired lemon juice and a tennis racket, and hid in the alcove, waiting. When the doors opened again, thirty minutes later, she ran as fast as she could, bumping into aliens of every race, without a destination, only following the Doctor's voice, directing them to a sort of elevator.

Xela ran after her.

"Wait! Let me come with you!", he said.

"What?", she said, reaching the elevator, panting. "But...".

"You said I got it all wrong. Please, take me with you. I want to learn!", he begged.

The Doctor looked at her with a satisfied ironic grin.

"Oh, look, you've imprinted! How cute!", he said, tossing the phone back to her.

"Shut up and unlock this thing", she said, wiggling her cuffed wrist in his face. He crossed his arms, expectantly. She smirked. "Please?".

"Ah", he commented, and sonicked the bracelet until it fell to the floor.

Xela was insisting, and Zoe couldn't help but feel sorry for him, when two more fishmen ran after them.

"It's him! The Doctor!".

He quickly pointed the sonic to the elevator commands, while Zoe pushed Xela into the elevator, inadvertently making him fall.

The Doctor tried to lock the doors, while the two fishmen aimed weapons at them.

Zoe uncapped the bottle, but the whole place shattered under the pressure of the water filling the aquarium, and shaking, Zoe let the lemon juice drop to the floor, where it bounced onto Xela's lap, before the elevator finally closed.

He started screaming in pain.

"Why did you do that for?" the Doctor cried.

"I... It wasn't meant for him!".

"He's a fish! You just showered him with lemon! You're killing him!".

_Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god, I really killed someone._

"Do something, Doctor! Please? Help him!", she cried, crawling to the floor, where the fishman was agonizing.

"Why does it always end up like this, with you?", the Doctor lamented, and with a weary look, he crouched down, turning the sonic in his hands. Silently, he pointed it to Xela's head and turned it on. With a last movement of his gill, he died.

"What did you do?".

"The only thing I could", the Doctor said, sadly, turning away. As soon as the elevator reached the surface island, where a platoon of soldiers was taking care of the escaped prisoners, he walked away without looking back. She heard the TARDIS dematerializing as she realized she couldn't ask for his help, and slowly paced towards the escape pods as everyone else.

Zoe reckoned the rhino-looking aliens to be some sort of police, in charge of the survivors. They scanned each one and led them to their respective planets, but they sent her to a 16th-some New Earth.

She took a deep breath and put all her hope in her phone.

"Zoeeeeeey!", she heard him pick up, happily. "Not a great time. How many dots?".

"Twenty-four", she said, relieved in hearing his voice, unable to hold her tears back.

"Oh, you pretty young thing", he said, his voice tuning down a notch. "Hold on, I'm picking up the coordinates as we speak. I'll be there in a sec. Look up".

As she turned her eyes up, she heard the TARDIS appear. Frantically, she ran to the wooden doors and burst them open. She couldn't control her sobs or her legs as she quickly stepped on the glass golden panels and jumped at his neck, hugging him.

"I'm sorry", she said. "Doctor, I'm so sorry", she sobbed, ignoring his uncomfortable stiffness.

"Zoe", he said, patting her, awkwardly. "You're shaking", he added, and stretched an arm out, then gently placed his tweed jacket on her shoulders.

"Amy! Hug Zoe", he said, snapping his fingers. "Zoe, have you met Amy?".

Amy walked over, rolling her eyes, and followed his intructions, while he quickly flipped a spiralled notebook open, mumbling. "Twelve dots...", he searched through the pages. "Eleven... Oh! Right, no, wait, where's your necklace?...Thirteen...".

"Uhm, thanks, Amy", Zoe said, not too convincing.

"Cup of tea?", she invited.

"That'd be great", she smiled.

"So what's the notebook?" Amy asked, her Scottish accent stressing the last word, helping the Doctor fly the TARDIS.

"Zoe just flashes away, and I'm filling in the gaps of where she left", he said, gesturing, while Amy nodded. "I saw you leave with... uhm, twenty-two dots, and... up until now I didn't know where you went".

"Twenty-three was when you were very cross at me for something I don't know yet, Madeline... and this last one, that aquarium cage... you thought I was Chloe", she said, sipping her tea. "I was so stupid. I took it all for sure, but you said time can be rewritten, and I just assumed the TARDIS would take me... whatever", she cut to stop herself from crying again, as the TARDIS landed.

"Zoe", the Doctor said, gently, walking to her. "Mark your twenty-fifth dot. I'm keeping you here with me and Amy for a trip, uhm, well, of course, if you want. I'm in a... happy mood lately, you won't miss grumpy young me", he said, waving his hands in the air. "What do you say, rockstar? We are... investigating art history, you'll love it! It's going to be fun!"

She smiled.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid I already have too many pending issues".

Amy jumped in.

"Come on! Stay! Just this once! I've heard so much about-", the Doctor cut her off abruptly with a hand on her mouth.

"Does your notebook say how many dots did I have when I made you and Martha hate me?", she said, coldly.

He leaned over her, stroking her arms.

"Zoe, pay attention now, because this is very, very important, hm?", he said, his forehead gently pushing on hers.

"I never, never _ever_ hated you".

She looked into his green old eyes.

"And yeah, right, twenty-five when I... twenty-five, on that adventure, but you also had... a hat", he continued, with a grin. "So that must mean I'm not driving you straight there. Now, as I was saying, Amy and I were just going to meet Vincent Van Gogh".

**A/N (yes, again) Don't know when the next update will come... hopefully before next week. Anyway here's a couple links to Zoe's outfit for this "episode" - this photos were my first inspiration for the character. resources0. news. com. au/images/2011/12/16/1226224/148676-937950-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-the. jpg**

** lustlovetanya. files. wordpress 2012/01/rooney-mara-the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo-04-280x386. jpg**

**Please please please review!**


	22. The ultimate ginger

**A/N YAY I'm back. Unfortunately soon I'll be working again so I'm doing what I can to wrap this before it completely slips from my hands... So here's a nice little (or rather very long) chapter where finally Zoe has an adventure with 11 and Amy! Hope you like it :) please review!**

22 - The ultimate ginger

Zoe stepped out of the TARDIS, still unsure about her outfit, but the Doctor insisted they couldn't waste anymore time for her to change. She tried to point out they were in a time machine, but soon realized he was already in adventure-mode and it was better not to kill his mood.

"So, Van Gogh?", she asked.

"There's something very not good in a painting at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris".

"What were you doing in Paris?".

"Amy said she'd never been to Paris".

Amy opened the TARDIS doors, and stepped out, holding a small travel guide book.

Zoe followed her and the Doctor, and smiled in recognizing the familiar cafe, a terrace with yellow lights.

"Good evening", the Doctor said to the gentlemen outside the door. "Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?".

"Don't mention that man to me", the man replied hastily, and walked back inside.

Spinning, the Doctor turned to the waitresses who were cleaning the tables. "Excuse me, do you know Vincent Van Gogh?".

"Unfortunately".

Amy and Zoe exchanged a curious look. "Unfortunately?"

"He's drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills", one of the waitress replied.

"Good painter, though, eh?", the Doctor suggestively said, only to be greeted by scornful laughter. Dejected, he sat at a table, and Zoe sat next to him, as Amy kept looking around, amazed at the feeling of being inside Van Gogh's painting, just as he walked out of the cafe.

"Come on! One painting for one drink!", he was insisting on the cafe patron. "It's not a bad deal!".

Zoe gasped in recognizing the man, while the Doctor giddily gestured at Amy who was cheering behind Van Gogh's shoulder, trying to sneak a peek of the painting.

The Doctor offered to pay for Vincent's drink, or to buy his painting so he could pay his own drink, but the man argued with him.

"Who are you?".

"I'm... new in town", the Doctor answered.

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you". Everyone laughed at this remark. "Two, no-one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town, so if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friends are cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business", he said, before turning his attention to the bar's owner. "Come on, just one more drink... I'll pay tomorrow!".

"No".

The two bickered for a while, much to the Doctor and Zoe's amusement, until Amy decided to settle things up.

"Oh, look, just shut up the pair of you!", she said, rolling her eyes, stepping between the two men. "I would like a bottle of wine, please", she told the patron, before turning to Vincent Van Gogh. "...which I will then share with whomever I choose".

"Oh, Amy Pond, I like her style", Zoe whispered into the Doctor's ear.

"You have seen nothing yet", the Doctor smiled. "Wait, when did I tell you her name is Pond?"

Amy and Vincent joined the Doctor and Zoe and they shared the bottle of wine.

"That accent of yours, you from Holland? Like me?"

Amy and Zoe answered "No" as the same time as the Doctor corrected, "Yes, they mean yes, So, start again. Hello, I'm the Doctor".

"I knew it!", Van Gogh said, giddily,

"Sorry?", the Doctor wondered.

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help".

"He's... not that kind of doctor", Zoe said, leaning on Van Gogh's hand. "He can really help".

"How do you know? Are you... a fairy? A pixie? Is that why you're dressed like you're out of this world?", he said, bewildered, but caught Amy's comment on his unfinished painting being _one of her favourites_.

"One of my favourite what? You' ve never seen my work before", he said to her.

"Ah, yes. One of my favourite paintings that I've ever seen", Amy replied, coyly, "Generally".

"Then you can't have seen many paintings, then, I know it's terrible. It's the best I could do", he said shyly, looking at it, then turning to Amy again. "Your hair is orange".

Zoe and the Doctor giggled.

"Yes. So's yours", Amy replied, leaning over the table.

"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course, less".

The Doctor was inquiring about painting churches, when they heard a woman screaming for help.

Zoe immediately jumped off her chair and reached the woman, crouched on a girl laying on the street, with the Doctor hot on her heels.

"She's been ripped to shreds!", a man was crying, as Zoe rushed forward to the girl.

"Please, let me look. I'm a doctor", the Doctor said. "Oh, no, no, no", he said, glancing at Zoe, who had already realized the girl was dead.

The woman pushed them away, crying.

"Away, all of you vultures! This is my daughter. Giselle. What monster could have done this? Get away from her!", the woman cried, caressing the girl with infinite tenderness while giving the Doctor, Zoe and Vincent an angered look.

"Ok, ok", the Doctor said, walking back.

"Get that madman out of here!" the crowd started yelling, while Giselle's mother threw a stone at Vincent, while they ran away. "You bring this on us! Your madness! You! He's to blame!", they all screamed.

###################################

"Watch out. That one's wet", Vincent said, while opening the doors.

"What?" Amy said, while the Doctor and Zoe followed Vincent inside the dark, small flat, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the famous painting of his bedroom.

"Sorry about the clutter", Vincent said lighting a lamp, and Zoe gasped again, looking around in bewilderment.

"Some clutter", he commented, while Zoe spinned around looking at the paintings, covering almost every surface in the room.

"_Thank you_", she whispered in the Doctor's ear. "_Thank you, thank you, thank you_", she giggled, looking around: the room had just picked up her fine arts degree and torn it to pieces.

Vincent Van Gogh. Complaining about his room being messy. Putting coffee casually on a painting. So much potential, so little self esteem. It was beautiful and heart breaking, Zoe thought.

"You should be careful with these, they're precious", the Doctor said, and Vincent wiped the coffee ring from a still life.

"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else", he said.

Amy heard them and popped into the room.

"They're precious to me!", she said, amazed.

They all sat down, and the Doctor started asking about churches again. Zoe couldn't see the rush in that, and she and Amy were edgy and kept looking around while the Doctor kept insisting in getting Vincent to talk about _religiousy things_ and buildings.

"You never talk about anything else", Vincent lamented. "He's a strange one", he said to Zoe.

"Don't get me started", Zoe said, winking at the Doctor, who winked back, glad she was regaining her usual witty mood.

"Not that you aren't", Vincent said. "Something is strange about you too. You look like you're... out of time itself, pixie". Zoe suddenly looked at him, startled at him using almost the same words as the Doctor, who noticed her doubt and quickly changed the subject.

"Ok, so, let's talk about you. What are you interested in?".

Vincent jumped on his feet.

"Look around. Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see", he said. Amy smiled, wandering off to watch _Starry Night_ closely.

"I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of", he said, to which the Doctor smiled gently.

"You don't have to tell me".

As Amy paced around, Zoe and the Doctor sat down to have coffee and listen to him talk about his views on art. The girl couldn't take her eyes off him, during his long speech. She rubbed her collarbone, absentmindedly, fascinated.

"It's colour. Colour that holds the key. I can hear the colours. Listen to them. Every time I step outside, I feel nature is shouting at me. "Come on. Come and get me. Come on. Come on!", he said, his voice growing louder, as he grabbed the Doctor's lapels. "Capture my mystery!"

"Maybe you've had enough coffee now. How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we? Amy? Where's Amy?", the Doctor said, just before they all heard Amy scream from outside. "No, no. NO!".

Before he reached the yard, Zoe was already outside, rushing to the girl.

"Amy? What happened?".

"I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind".

"It's ok. He's gone now and we're here", the Doctor reassured her, while Zoe noticed Vincent wasn't that reassured.

"No!", he was crying out, backing away from them.

"Easy... easy", Zoe tried.

"What's happening? What's he doing?", Amy asked.

"I don't know", the Doctor said, alarmed, while Vincent took a large fork and held it in front of him like a weapon, and charged them.

##################################

The Doctor was still looking in disbelief at the once beautiful and now scribbled over painting in his hands, as he walked to the TARDIS. The monster who attacked Amy was invisible and only Van Gogh could see it and save Amy, but the artist's sketch didn't ring any bell to the Doctor, and he had no clue at what it was. He had instructed Amy to take care of Vincent and make him comfortable, and the two ginger seemed to get along great.

"I never asked, how do I understand French? And why do we sound Dutch?", Zoe asked.

"The TARDIS translates everything, for you and for those you talk to".

"Like the Babel Fish?".

"Almost, but the TARDIS only works on your mind, now why would I have to be so primitive as to put a poor clever fish down your ears?".

"So they exist?!".

He giggled. "Yes they do, but they're a bit, you know, grammar nazi. The TARDIS is funnier".

She shook her head. "What if I actually spoke French? Or Dutch?".

"I don't know", he said, suddenly stopping. "But she translates Latin as Old Welsh, here's what I know. Funny though, I thought you knew".

Zoe looked at him, giggling. They kept walking through the narrow alleys to find the TARDIS.

"Doctor, why did you leave Amy there and I'm coming with you?", she asked, when they reached the familiar blue box.

"Why, they like each other. Besides, you're tough. Come on, rockstar! We've been through much worse than this! We've seen much scarier things than an angry invisible monster, you and me, didn't we?".

"As in me and you with this face? No, not really".

He stopped suddenly.

"How many dots were you at? Er... oh. Forget about it. Guess your outfit is a little... _distracting,_ after all, _pixie_".

An eerie noise interrupted the awkward silence.

"Did you just hear that?" Zoe asked him, hastening her pace.

"What, that growling sound?", he said, quickly opening the TARDIS doors. "No".

"Zoe, look for... nevermind. Help me with this case".

She was looking at him as he frantically rummaged through the box, surprised, now that she had spent a little more time with him, at how different he was from the Doctor she knew, the silly adventurous yet deep and sad alien with specs and pinstripe suits, when he started blabbering about.

"I thought you were just an embarrassing present from a dull godmother with two heads and bad breath. Twice." he said, pulling out a device that looked like a mirror attached to a harness_._ "How wrong can a man be?"

He connected it to the TARDIS typewriter, grinning at Zoe. "Look at this, you'll like it", he said, making silly faces at the mirror. "If it works".

Zoe looked as the TARDIS printed out pictures of two old men she didn't recognize, although the top page said _Time Lord, planet: Gallifrey_. She looked at the pictures surprised, when he took the page out of her hands.

"Good. OK, you're working. Now, see what you make of this", he said, holding up Van Gogh's sketch. "Who is that? No, I know it's not that. There are thousands of them and you can see them plain as day. No. Definitely not. This is the problem with the impressionists - not accurate enough", he complained, as the machine showed him pictures of parrots and polar bears. "This would never happen with Gainsborough or one of those proper painters. Sorry, Vincent", he said, sadly, looking at the sketch again. "You'll just have to draw something better".

He tossed the canvas over his head, and walked outside, wearing the device, in the now fully dawned day. Zoe followed him a second too late, a bit jumpy.

"Doctor...".

"That's better, old girl. Time delay, but you always get it right in the end. Good", he said to the machine as the monster appeared in the mirror. "Let's find out who this is, then. Whoa, there you are, you poor thing, You brutal, murderous, abandoned thing. I hope we meet again soon so I can take you home...".

"Doctor! Watch out!", Zoe said, turning the mirror to his face, before something she didn't see shattered her against a wall.

"...Maybe not that soon. Zoe, that list of scary things? You can add _invisible monster_ now!", he said, helping Zoe to stand and running quickly down the alley.

As she felt the creature coming closer to them, Zoe and the Doctor started knocking over tables, chairs and everything on their way, trying to stop it, and they heard noises and saw some of the things clash around and slow down, before completely fading.

"I think it gave up", Zoe said, resting against a wall by the Doctor's side.

The Doctor turned slowly around and jumped startled by Amy showing up suddenly at the corner.

"Never do that! You scared the living daylights out of me!", he cried out.

#################################

"You don't like sunflowers?", Amy said to Vincent, more genuinely surprised than disappointed that her surprise for him didn't trigger the reaction she expected.

He looked around at the courtyard, where Amy had carefully displayed baskets and vases of sunflowers until the place was all bright and sunny.

"No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge".

The Doctor smiled.

"And one I'm pretty sure you will rise to. But, moving on, there's something I need to show you", he said, walking inside the house to show him the printout of the creature.

"That's him", Vincent said, scared. "And the eyes. Without mercy".

"This is a creature called the Krafayis. They travel in space, they travel as a pack. Scavenging across the universe. Sometimes one of them gets left behind and because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is... Well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them".

"But I can".

Vincent agreed to paint the church, upon the Doctor suggestion that he could help in stopping the Krafayis, and walked to his room to gather his things for an _en plain air _painting session, and the Doctor turned concerned.

"This is risky", he said.

"Riskier than normal?", Amy asked.

"Well, think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the result of our trip could be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay will disappear", he sighed, and sat next to Zoe. "And it will be our fault".

Zoe focused on what that could mean. If the paintings disappeared, how could they all remember them? Wouldn't the fact they had seen them in the future make them past and fixed? Or would that be a different reality, like in _Back to the future_? Just as she thought she could handle timey-wimey, her brains buzzed in confusion.

The Doctor checked his watch and walked over to Vincent's room, identical to the painting.

"Vincent, can I help?"

"It's so clear you cannot help. And when you leave, and everyone always leaves, I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope", he said crying, rolling on the bed, where he was laying face down.

"My experience is that there is, you know, surprisingly, always hope".

"Then your experience is incomplete. I know how it will end, and it will not end well".

"Come on", the Doctor exorted him.

"Out! You get out! What are you doing here?", he screamed, sending the Doctor away. "What are you doing here?".

The Doctor walked out awkwardly. "Very well. I'll leave, I'll leave you", he said, watching Vincent curl into sobs.

Amy and Zoe heard him scream and jumped up the stairs, where the Doctor was taken aback, sad.

"What's happening?", Zoe asked.

"We're leaving. Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll... he'll take his own life", the Doctor replied, somber.

"Don't say that", Amy sadly noted. "Please".

He ran down the stairs silently and started packing, deciding they were going to do this without Vincent. He was telling the girls about his hope that the monster would show up anyways when Vincent joined them as if nothing had happened.

############################

"Oh, Amy, I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone, I think", Vincent was telling Amy.

"I'm not sad", she politely denied.

"Then why are you crying?".

Surprised, Amy put a hand to her cheek, wiping away a tear she was unaware of.

A few steps behind them, the Doctor and Zoe were following the two gingers.

"He's not just a genius with art, is he?". She told the Doctor.

"He can see the universe", he replied, looking fondly at the man.

"How can he know things about Amy and me? Things even we don't know?".

"It's not just about colours, Richards", he said, with a hint of pain in his eyes.

The Doctor was confident about his mirror box thingy, although the girls weren't so sure about the lack of ideas. Vincent was telling the Doctor how he was ready to fight the Krafayis, when they all silently stopped to watch the mourning procession of Giselle's funeral. Her mother glared at them in silence.

"You do have a plan, don't you?", Zoe asked the Doctor.

"No", he said, starting to walk again towards the church. "It's a thing, it's like a plan, but with more greatness".

#####################################

Amy and Zoe were looking in amazement as Vincent Van Gogh painted, almost unbelievably. _I'm watching Vincent Van Gogh as he paints_, Zoe thought. _In your face, art history teacher._

The Doctor, however, was bored to death, and kept complaining about time.

"I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I said to him, _if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job_".

Amy silenced him.

"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, _concentrate, Pablo, it's one eye, either side of the face_."

"Keep quiet..." Zoe told him.

The sun set down, and the painting was nowhere near being finished.

"Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order", the Doctor complained, again. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack". He stood up from where he had been squatting for at least half an hour in boredom.

Zoe looked at him. "Are you OK? You seem a bit, if I didn't know better, I'd say nervous".

"There's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it"-

"There". Vincent called. "He's at the window".

"Where?"

"There, on the right".

"As I thought. Come on. I'm going in", the Doctor started.

"Well, I'm coming, too", the artist said, while Zoe behind him mouthed _no way_.

The Doctor stopped him, holding his hand. "No. You're Vincent Van Gogh. No".

"But you're not armed", he protested, while Zoe groaned.

"I am".

"What with?"

"Overconfidence, this", he said, tapping his machinery "and a small screwdriver". _Words and screwdriver. Yes. Definitely the same man_, Zoe thought. "I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting, and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, Zoe, only one thought, one simple instruction - don't follow me under any circumstances", he finished, gesturing at Vincent to keep an eye on the girls.

"We won't", Zoe said, nodding at Amy.

The Doctor gave them all a thumbs-up and headed towards the church, while Zoe and Amy exchanged a knowing look.

"Will you follow him?".

"Of course", Amy replied.

"I love you", the painter said to the ginger.

########################################

The monster wasn't an easy target and the fact that out of the four, only Vincent was able to see him didn't make the fight easier. The Doctor tried to sonic him, and to talk him into stop attacking them, without success, until something Vincent said made him think.

"It's moving around the room. Feeling its way around".

The Doctor soon realized his mistake.

"I am really stupid", he said.

Amy and Zoe protested, but he kept talking.

"No, I am _really_ stupid and I'm growing old... Why does it attack, but never eat its victims?", he asked, sadly, moving closer to the girls to crouch behind a sarcophagus with them.

"And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? Why is it _feeling its way_ helplessly around the walls of the room? It can't see, it's _blind_. That explains why it has such perfect hearing!"

"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us", Vincent warned them, stepping forward holding his easel like a spear.

"Vincent! Vincent, what's happening?", the Doctor asked.

"It's charging now... get back! Get back!", he said, moving forward.

Suddenly, all Zoe, Amy and the Doctor could see was Vincent holding his easel in mid-air, but as soon as he let go, it stayed suspended where the beast was hit, falling to the floor.

"He wasn't without mercy at all", he said, regretful. "He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen... I only meant to wound it, I never meant to...".

Zoe stood up to pat his shoulder in empathy. The Tulas, and Xela, the fishman. She knew what he was going through, and she felt for the man.

"He's trying to say something", the Doctor said.

"What is it?", Vincent asked.

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying..._ I'm afraid, I'm afraid_", the Doctor whispered, gently reaching out to stroke the still invisible body of the creature. "There, there. It's Ok... You'll be fine, ssh...".

"He was frightened... and he lashed out. Like humans, who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me", Vincent said, seriously.

The Doctor stood up.

"I was wrong, Zoe. Sometimes winning... winning is no fun at all", he said, leaving.

#####################################

They were laying in the middle of the field, their heads pointed together. Vincent reached for the Doctor's and Amy's hand.

"Hold my hand, Doctor. Try to see what I see. We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world".

Zoe pondered his words. She never bothered about risking her life. Travelling, harming herself with substance abuse, and lately facing scary aliens was ordinary business. She lived her life like there was no tomorrow, just as Vincent had just said. There was too much to see in the beautiful world.

The Doctor and Amy reached for her hands.

"Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue", Vincent said, pointing his hand, entwined with the Doctor's. _"_And over there, lighter blue", he added, with a sweeping motion of his other hand. "And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through - the stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes".

Zoe almost cried in hearing his description of his own painting, starry night.

"I've seen many things, my friend", the Doctor said. "But you're right, nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see".

Vincent held Amy's hand closer, tightening his grip.

"I will miss you terribly", he said.

The morning after, it was time for goodbyes. The Doctor, Amy and Zoe giggled in excitement as they refused to accept a painting as parting gifts, leaving the poor painter, once again, convinced that they didn't like them.

"Amy, the blessed, the wonderful", Vincent started.

"Be good to yourself and be kind to yourself", Amy said, saddening.

"I'll try my best".

"And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, and we will have children by the dozen", he added, as Amy eeked, surprised.

"And you, pixie, lost child. You will find your path. Trust your true self along the way". Zoe smiled at his words, although again she felt uncomfortable.

"Doctor, my friend. We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well".

The Doctor hugged him tightly, knowing what monsters the painter would be up to fight in the next months.

They started walking away, when the Doctor had an idea.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?".

"I was thinking I may need some food before we leave", Amy answered.

"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking", he replied, and he turned to call the artist. "Vincent!".

##########################################

Zoe held Vincent's hand, trying to drag him away from Monet's paintings and Rodin's sculptures in the hall in the Musee d'Orsay. The Doctor carried him past some of the water lilies, before they entered the Van Gogh section.

The man was overwhelmed in watching his own painting hung in such a museum, and the crowd was looking at them in awe. He couldn't believe it. Zoe spinned around him, holding out her arms.

He held her hand to keep steady as she pointed him to hear the Doctor talk to someone.

"To me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all", the man said, and Vincent's eyes began to tear up.

"Certainly, the most popular, great painter of all time, the most beloved", the museum guide kept on. "His command of colour, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world - no-one had ever done it before. Perhaps no-one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived".

The artist was crying outwardly now, and he turned as the Doctor hugged him, worried it was too much for him. He reassured him, between tears, that he was in fact crying out of joy, and hugged the man who just spoke those reverent words about his work.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you", he told him, hugging him.

The man was startled and confused, but replied politely.

"You're welcome... you're welcome".

As they walked away, Zoe turned to look at the man, who was studying the ginger, outfashioned man in disbelief, and nodded to him with a sideways smile.

#######################################

He was so happy when they brought him back to 1890, repeating his goodbyes with a much more cheerful tone. He thanked Zoe and the Doctor, because, as she had said, he ended up being the only one to actually help him. Amy subtly refused another marriage proposal, and as he walked away smiling, she insisted they went back to Paris to check how many new works Vincent Van Gogh would have created in his long life.

"I'm not sure there will", the Doctor warned, while Zoe kept questioning herself on the _time can be rewritten_ subject.

As they walked through the exhibition door, Amy was already heartbroken in hearing the same man from before explain his audience that Van Gogh committed suicide at the age of 37.

"We didn't make a difference at all", Amy said, holding back her tears.

"I wouldn't say that", the Doctor said, walking to her. "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey", he said, hugging her. _"_The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa - the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant". He let go of her, still holding her head. _"_And we definitely added to his pile of good things. And if you look carefully..." he started, pointing her to the church painting. "...maybe we did indeed make a couple of little changes".

"No Krafayis", Amy commented.

"No Krafayis", he repeated.

Something caught Zoe's eye, as she was walking to the center of the exhibit, and she moved to Amy, purposedly, taking her across the room. The Doctor glanced at them and followed at a distance to catch up with them in the alcove, where_ Still life: Vase with twelve sunflowers _is hung as a standalone piece. On the vase, right above his signature, they all read _For Amy_. The Doctor came whistling beside them.

"If we had got married, our kids would have had very, very red hair", Amy said, with a sad smile.

"The ultimate ginger", Zoe said.

"The ultimate ginge", the other girl repeated, smiling, as the Doctor laughed. "Brighter than sunflowers".

##################################

"You're the one who looks sad, now", Amy told the Doctor, while Zoe was finally getting changed. "Sure you're okay?".

"Me? Of course I am, I am the king of okay, sure", he said, then his face turned sad. "No I'm not".

"Would you tell good ol'Amy Pond what's wrong?", she mocked him, snatching the spiralled notebook from his hands, although he quickly slammed it shut. "It's her, isn't it?".

"These gaps I'm filling, the moments in my past when she left and I didn't know where she went... each time she lands with me, it's one less. They will be all filled someday".

"Isn't that good? Wouldn't that mean you're finally on the same timeline?", Amy asked, furrowing her brows.

"Something like that, yes", he said, looking at the last page, concerned, then closed the notebook. "Or that someday she will just disappear and never come back".

"I thought Time Lords never said _never_", Amy said, cupping his head with her hands, when something caught her attention beside him. "Cheer up, Doctor. You haven't told her my name is Pond yet".

"Foreknowledge isn't a good thing", he replied, dark.

"Have we gone into dark and serious mood again? Come on, Doctor! So tell me again why is it that you'll just give me a ride this time?", Zoe grunted, walking down the stairs, drying her hair in a white towel.

The Doctor stood silent for a while, smiling, but she was sure then that something painful had just crossed his mind, and almost asked, before realizing she already had the answer. _Spoilers_. She was beginning to hate that word.

"We're just stopping for a snack, Amy's hungry. There's this little land-through chips place, I used to go there all the time".

"Land-through?", Zoe repeated, confused.

"Well, it's like a drive-through, but for spaceships".

"Chips in space?".

"Why not?", he said, as the TARDIS made her usual materializing noise. "Out, go!".

"Is it going to be cold? My hair is still wet", Zoe answered, looking at Amy as she draped her red scarf around her coat lepels.

"Here", he said, absentmindedly, throwing a beanie hat at her. "Don't lose it, I like beanies. Beanies are cool".

**A/N So what do you think? I really feel bad my dear Zoe didn't do much to save the day ****and I don't really like when an OC character just steals lines from other people, **but Vincent and the Doctor is such a good episode that I didn't really feel like changing the story that much :) Anyway I hope you liked it, let me know what you think please! I'm currently writing the big moment in which the Doctor and Martha get really mad at Zoe and it's set in one of my favourite episodes, ...can you guess which one it is? well one thing's for sure I won't give you any spoilers. XD


	23. John, Joan, Jones and Jane

**Hi! So I'm back. This chapter is really really long, hope you don't all fall asleep halfway through. A lot happens though so keep reading! Also thanks to The Elo and Miri for the reviews! **

**23 - John, Joan, Jones and Jane**

"There. _Plain Jane_. What do you think?", Zoe asked Martha, adjusting the nurse cap on her head with bobby pins.

"I still don't understand why you renamed yourself Jane, what's wrong with _Zoe_?", the other girl said, turning to let Zoe help her tie her apron.

"I'm trying to play low. I'm sure _Jane_ would attract less attention than _Zoe_. I'm also sure I'm not meant to be a nurse. I'd be much more at ease playing the maid".

"We've been over this three times! I've already told you, this is 1913, and it's a school for boys. Likely the only thing you'll have to do will be to warm some water, or boil bandages for scratches".

"Yes, but still, _you_ should have been the nurse".

"Yeah. But it's 1913, and I'm black. Life is life", Martha replied, with a bitter smile.

Zoe checked the mirror again. The piercing holes weren't that much visible, but she felt naked. Her improvised-on-the-run messy haircut was hidden safely under the cap, and her uniform luckily had long sleeves so her tattooes wouldn't show.

"I hardly recognize myself. Nail polish?".

"For the third time, _no_", Martha groaned, smiling.

It wasn't just the fact that the Doctor had now commented twice to her that her look wasn't appropriate that made her worry so much about hiding any detail that could reveal her time traveler status.

"Come on! It's gonna work just fine!", the other girl said.

What really concerned her was that she and Martha were left alone without him.

############################################

A month later, Zoe wasn't so sure it was going to work just fine. It only took Nurse Redfern, the Matron, her superior, two days, to realize she had no professional training, and basicly, only the fake references she had produced let her keep the job. Props making, specifically paper aging and calligraphy techniques, had proved useful. Careful not to cause any time-travel related chaos, Zoe kept low and never complained, and the only thing she would have complained about was that she had to eat meat or starve, and drink the occasional sip of wine, which made her very uncomfortable.

Joan Redfern was kind and probably lonely, Zoe thought, because, instead of being resented at her incompetence, she kept giving her simple tasks she could accomplish by herself, and took it over herself to actually teach her and train her to be a nurse.

She was guilty to admit she was relieved of not seeing John Smith, the Doctor, too often, because the infirmary was in a different building of the school complex. She missed Martha though, who had been employed as his personal maid, because Nurse Redfern was very concerned about not socializing with lower class employees, and although at first Zoe thought that sounded pretentious, she didn't want to attract attention to herself as a liberal progressist.

She and Martha had agreed to meet where the TARDIS was hidden, every once in a while, and she kept her updated on the Doctor. In fact, Zoe was grateful that at least one of them could keep an eye on him in this bizarre situation, which she still had trouble to understand. _He dreams_, Martha had said.

###############################

They had stopped for chips. She walked into the TARDIS loudly chatting with Amy and completely forgot she didn't have her necklace, and in distraction she found herself in 1913, in the powered down TARDIS. Martha had left her a note on the monitor.

_Boys School. If you run into him, don't call him Doctor. I'll explain later. (just so you know, it's 1913). Find me first. Love, Martha_

She took off her piercings, changed into a long muslin dress and walked out. The village was lovely. Years before, she had worked in a period tv drama, but this was nothing like an altered location, it was pure original English countryside. The people looked so simple and relaxed, as if nothing could interrupt their routine. Too bad 1914 was on its way. She gladly noticed nobody seem to care about her and she checked her disguise in a window reflection.

"Way to go, Jane Eyre", she said, frustrated, as a group of people passed by.

"Excuse me, did you say Jane Eyre?", she heard the Doctor's voice above her shoulder.

She looked at him, smiling, relieved. His old and deep eyes were somehow clouded, as if effortlessly trying to hide something. He wore a three-piece flannel suit, with a round collar white shirt, and a thin black tie. But above all, his usually messy hair was neatly combed and styled under a bowler hat.

Zoe smiled, curious. He usually walked into any age in his pinstripe suit and converse trainers, why did he dress up to fit now? What was so special about 1913? "Yes, D... the book, Jane Eyre, have you read it?".

"Yes...". he looked at her without a hint of recognition, and an awkward, twitching smile appeared on his lips. "Yes, I've read it, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I... It's always lovely to meet a young lady who is interested in literature, uhm...". Zoe looked at him furrowing her brow. _What is he playing at?_ He sounded convincing, though. "I'm sorry, Miss, I'm John Smith, I teach history at the Boys School. It's lovely to meet you, Miss...".

He took off his hat, politely held it under his elbow, and offered her a hand.

Zoe was still a bit confused. Nobody was hearing their conversation, so why was he pretending not to know her? Was she supposed to play along? John Smith?

"Jane Richards, Sir. Pleased to meet you", she said, tentatively. "I'm... new in town".

"Oh, well, then, I'd love to give a nice lady like you a tour of the local amenities, but I'm afraid it wouldn't take very long".

"I'm sure it won't be a problem, Mr. Smith", she smiled, joking, but his smile faded.

"Oh, uhm, I'm... sorry, Miss Richards, it was not my intention to bother you, I mean no harm. Of course, If I can...".

His apology was abruptly interrupted by Martha, jumping off a bicycle just aside them. She wore a grey coat and a bonnet, and a relieved expression showed on her face as soon as she saw Zoe.

"You came! Oh, it's so great to see you, Z... Ehm, Miss... Richards", she said tentatively, hugging her, then quickly retracting, at seeing the Doctor's scolding face.

"Martha!", he said, in a severe tone. "It's hardly appropriate for a maid like you to display such intimacy with Miss Richards", he stated, coldly.

Zoe knew then something was wrong, because she caught Martha looking honestly scared and hurt, as she searched her face for explanations.

"Oh, yes, sure, you're right, Mr. Smith. I tend to forget my position with Miss Richards, my... sister was employed with her family, and to see her made me think of my own siblings", Martha said, with a low voice, and she bowed her head gently to them both. "I beg your pardon, Miss Richards, please forgive my rudeness".

Zoe looked at his pleased look, and then at Martha again, when he spoke.

"Thank you. You're dismissed, Martha, now if you don't mind...", he was turning to Zoe when Martha cut him off again.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry, Sir, but I was sent... a letter...", she started, and Zoe could immediately tell she was improvising. "... A letter announced Miss Richards' arrival in town, and I was sent to... escort her to find her... accomodation", she said, nodding at Zoe, an inviting tilt in her head.

"Oh, right, yes", she blabbered, surprised. "I'll have to... take a rain check on our sightseeing tour, Mr. Smith... as Martha was saying, it's best if I... settle down first".

"Oh! Settle down, good. So you're not in town for a visit?", he said, beaming at her.

"Yes, uhm, miss Richards is going to... stay...".

"I'll be working...", she said, her mind flipping the options. _Teacher? cook? farmer? seamstress? What the hell did people do for a living in 1913? _"As a...".

"Nurse", Martha said. "Do you remember, Mr. Smith, I was telling you that the school was hiring someone to help the Matron, with this cold spreading there are too many kids getting sick...".

"Oh, a nurse! My mother, Verity was also a nurse, she worked at the hospital in Nottingham, where I was born", he said, with the confidence of someone repeating the same thing over and over. "What a coincidence, Miss Richards! Uh, er, well, I mean, good for you. I guess I'll see you at the school then", he said, embarassed, and tilted his hat before putting it on and strolled away, turning one last time as he walked past her to take a last look at the new girl in town.

Zoe was still dumbstruck, but Martha grabbed her hand and whispered. "Back to the TARDIS", she said, swinging the TARDIS key she had on a keychain around her neck.

"What is wrong with him? And why is the TARDIS... off?"

"We were running from a family of hunters, they're looking from him, and they have... a stolen time machine, or something, they would have followed us anywhere, anytime. But here's the trick, they can't see the Doctor, they can only smell him as a Time Lord. So he, uhm, he... turned himself into human".

"He did what?", Zoe giggled nervously. It was funny, actually. The Doctor, the mighty Time Lord, always boasting about being clever and superior, had to turn himself into a human... to run and hide?

"There's this machine which rewrote his cells and now he's human - you're lucky you've missed it, I mean, I was there, and I can't imagine how painful it was for him... He kept screaming, and crying. I've never seen him like that. It was... awful". Martha saddened, and Zoe started to think it wasn't that funny after all.

"The TARDIS invented a backstory for him, this "Mr. Smith the history teacher from Nottingham" thing", she said, gesturing commas in the air. "And his Time Lord memory is hidden in... a fob watch. Here, he left this video message". Martha said, then played the list of notes and instructions, that ranged from "Don't let me eat pears" to "if you open the watch they'll find me".

She checked her wrist, as the Doctor always did.

"Oh! You've... _jumped forward_, if that's how you call it. He wasn't sure if you were to come back, but we thought the least we could do was to leave you a note. I came back here everyday to see if you'd shown".

"Everyday?", Zoe said. "How long has this been going on?".

"Almost a month now. We have to last two more, though. The Family apparently can't survive more than three months". She said, sadly. "Unless they find a Time Lord".

Zoe patted the other girl on her shoulders. Martha had been working as a shop assistant in 1969 for the long time it took them to put the Sparrow Report plan in action, and was now facing two more months of floor cleaning. He promised me time and space, and I'm stuck working in the past, she had said. It wasn't fair for Martha.

"You must be so tired", she said.

"No, it's not that bad. I'm his personal maid, so I can keep an eye on him. Trust me, he turned human, but he's head in the clouds. But I'm happy to see you, it will all be easier now that you're here. It feels really lonely sometimes".

It only occurred to Zoe at that moment that whatever Martha was mad at her for was yet to happen. Martha was a good friend, and needed her friendship. Zoe resolved to set this straight. She wouldn't let the Doctor and Martha get mad at her. _Time can be rewritten_, she thought.

"Ok. Now, are you really trying to pass me as a _nurse_? I don't even wash fruit".

################################

"Good morning, Mr. Smith", Nurse Redfern said, walking past him in the corridor of the first floor.

"Oh, good morning, Matron. How's Jenkins?", he asked, smiling. He was carrying a stack of books that looked dangerously close to falling.

"Nothing serious, just a cold. Just like Turner last week...".

"Oh! Great. Good, good", he said, nodding.

"And Brooks, the week before...".

"Oh, yes. These boys...".

"Mr. Smith, one might think you're finding excuses to come and see my younger assistant, Jane", she mocked him, gently, as Zoe walked out of a room behind him.

He giggled, and his eyes turned wide. "Oh, but she's the girl of my dreams, Matron!".

"Excuse me?", Zoe said, surprising him.

"Miss Richards... oh, I mean, the girl _in_ my dreams", he mumbled, blushing, as Nurse Redfern hid her laugh behind her hands.

"In your dreams, Mr. Smith?", Zoe asked, smiling.

"Yes! You see... I have these dreams, where I am... a daredevil, an adventurer, and sometimes there's a girl... I call her the girl with two hearts, because sometimes she's good and sometimes she messes with me, and... she looks just like you".

Zoe looked at him fondly. The Doctor's memories surfaced through his dreams, just that morning Martha told her he dreamt of her. They weren't sure of what that meant, but they were glad to have at least that comforting hint of the Doctor still being somewhere, lost inside John Smith's human brain.

"Adventures, Mr. Smith? With a nurse?", the Matron asked, joking.

"Oh, no, she's not a nurse, she's... anything that the adventure requires. Because you see, in the dreams, I am a time traveller!", he said, proudly. "And I have these... companions, who travel with me, like... like a team".

"Oh, that sounds exciting!", Zoe said, smiling.

"Yes, it is...", he said, staring at her smile, as two boys run past them, and the top book on his stack lost balance and fell to the floor, almost on the stairs. Zoe quickly stepped on it to stop it falling away, as Nurse Redfern scorned the boys.

He looked at the book on the floor, wondering how to pick it up with his arms full, mumbling. "Um... ah, Just to... retrieve...ah", he stopped rambling as Zoe bended and grabbed it up. "Um, thank you, Miss Richards".

"You can call me Jane, Mr. Smith. We're on a team, aren't we?", she grinned.

"Oh... yes, thank you again". He kept staring at her, daft.

"Oh, don't you just stand there, Jane. Help him carry the books!", Nurse Redfern winked at her from behind his back.

"Yes! 'm sorry, Mr. Smith, let me help. Let me take half", Zoe said, quickly grabbing the top part of his stack of books.

"Oh, brilliant. Perfect. Division of labour. It's John, by the way".

"Teamwork. You make just quite a team, indeed", Nurse Redfern commented.

"Don't we just", he said, unable to take his eyes off Zoe.

She smiled back, giggling inside. The Doctor was all smiles. As Martha said, head in the clouds.

"So, Mr. Smith... where do we go with all these books?".

He snapped back to reality and looked up the corridor, thinking.

"Oh, this way". He stepped aside to let Zoe and Nurse Redfern lead on.

As they turned the corner on the landing, Nurse Redfern pointed to a notice on the wooden board.

"Oh, have you seen this? The annual dance at the village hall tomorrow. It's nothing formal, but rather fun by all accounts", she said, and smiled at Zoe. "Do you think you'll go, Mr. Smith?".

He stammered, averting his eyes from Zoe to her, unsure of how to reply.

"I... I hadn't thought about it, Matron".

Nurse Redfern pouted. "We've known each other for two months now, you can call me nurse Redfern, or Joan, when it's just us".

"Oh, okay. I hadn't thought about the dance, Joan", he repeated, distracted.

"See, John, there's hardly any fun around here for girls. It's been ages since I've been to a dance, only no-one's asked me", she said nervously. "Or Jane".

Zoe had the feeling the woman was trying to set them up. _Oh, this is going to be fun_, she thought. He looked at them with a dumbstruck face, blabbering.

"Well, I should imagine that you would be...um...I mean I never thought you'd be one for... I mean there's no reason why you girls shouldn't... if you do, you may not...I probably won't, but even if I did then I couldn't...um, I mean I wouldn't want to...".

He was genuinely flustered, and Zoe couldn't hold her grin. "Stairs", she warned him.

"It... what about the stairs?", he said, distracted.

"They're right behind you", Joan said as he clumsily fell down.

######################################

Martha stormed into the room, giving Zoe a worried nod, as Joan was medicating the Doctor's head.

"Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking", Joan scolded her.

A little annoyed, Martha mumbled and turned to the door. "Sorry, right, yeah", she said, knowcking visibly. Zoe silenced a giggle at her temper. "But is he alright?", Martha asked. "They said you fell down the stairs, Sir".

"No, it was just a tumble, that's all".

"Have you checked for concussion?", she said, alarmed, looking at Zoe and Joan.

"I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you", Joan replied, lightly offended.

"Sorry. I'll just...", she looked at the Doctor, then quickly moved her eyes across the room, searching. "...Tidy your things".

He didn't seem too bothered, and talked to her.

"I was just telling Nurse Redfern, Matron, um, about my dreams... They are quite remarkable tales". Martha gave Zoe an alarmed look, while he kept talking. "I keep imagining that I'm someone else, and that I'm hiding-".

Joan was curious. "Hiding? In what way?".

"Uh... er... almost every night..." he giggled, embarassed. "This is going to sound silly-".

"Come on, tell me".

"I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts".

Joan looked at Zoe. "Well we can judge that", she said, giving Zoe a stethoscope to invite the girl to check him. Martha turned her sad gaze away, as Zoe placed the tool on his chest and checked both sides. He kept staring at Zoe's focused eyes. "I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart. Hear for yourself". She smiled, and gently passed the stethoscope ear plugs to him.

"I...have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction... um, not that it would be of any interest...".

Zoe widened her eyes. If the Doctor was dreaming about his past, would there be something in his book to tell her more about her evil future self? He had said just minutes earlier that he had dreamed her. Martha caught her eyes, as if she knew what she was thinking, and frowned.

"I'd be very interested", Joan said, relieving the tension. He seemed disappointed that he didn't get any reaction from Zoe, but his eyes turned bright and he moved to the desk to pick up the journal, shy.

"I've never shown it to anyone before", he said, searching the eyes of the other girls.

"Journal of impossible things", Joan read, and started looking at the pages, filled with handwritten ink words and sketches. Very detailed pictures, Zoe thought at catching a glimpse of some familiar aliens. No wonder the Doctor wasn't that impressed with her own drawing skills. "Just look at these creatures!", Joan commented, amazed. "Such imagination...".

"Hm, it's become quite a hobby", he said as she kept turning the pages.

"It's wonderful. And quite an eye for the pretty girls", Joan said, mocking him. The book was open to a beautiful inked portrait of Rose. Zoe kept an eye on Martha, as she turned sad as the Doctor explained, unemotionally.

"Oh, no, no, she's just an invention. This character, Rose, I call her Rose". The Doctor said. nodding to Zoe. She smiled back at him, simpathetically, but he couldn't read her look and misunderstood. "Seems to disappear later on...".

######################################

Martha ran after Joan and Zoe as soon as they left the room.

"Miss Richards", she called. They both stopped and Zoe nodded to Joan to keep going, as she stopped to talk to Martha.

"What?", she whispered stepping closer.

"The journal. I'm not sure you should read it".

"Yeah, I know, but Nurse Redfern..."

"He's dreaming about past things... do you think he will remember? And can you stop flirting with him?"

"I'm not flirting! And I said I know! I'll just... convince her it's just stories. Don't let her-".

"Who is he, Martha?", Joan suddenly cut them off, as if she heard them mentioning her.

"I'm sorry?", Martha replied.

"It' like he's left the kettle on. Like... he knows he has something to get back to, but he can't remember what".

Martha giggled nervously. "That's just him".

Nurse Redfern was pretty intent in not letting her go. "You arrived with him, didn't you? He found you employment here at the school, isn't that right?".

Zoe lowered her look. She didn't like where the conversation was going.

"I used to work for the family, he just sort of inherited me". Martha said, shyly.

"Well I'd be careful. If you don't mind my saying, you sometimes seem a little familiar with him. Best remember your position", she said with a nod, and turned to walk away without even waiting for an answer.

"Sorry", Zoe muttered, as she started to follow her.

"Don't worry. I'll see you at the pub".

###########################################

Zoe walked to the pub with Nurse Redfern. She was prepared for another night of pretending to drink. The first time they went to the pub, she tried to avoid beer, but the villagers wouldn't take no for an answer until she had a pint in her hands, and in a month she perfectioned her tricks. Tossing into a flower pot was easy. Even easier was to quickly switch her glass, always with one a little more empty until she found a completely empty one.

She was conscious, but the dullness of those days, working as an inefficient nurse with too much spare time, was really challenging her strenght and more than once already she had slipped into thinking "It's just a pint", before realizing she knew better. Once was a man in the pub who wouldn't stop shouting (been there, done that), another time a woman sitting in a corner by herself crying while everyone around laughed at her (ditto).

She kept thinking about the Doctor's daft human eyes and his journal of impossible things. This human he became, John Smith, he was completely different from him. He seemed to have little to low self confidence, he hardly spoke, and he was trigger happy in teaching the school boys in warfare. She couldn't help but wonder, what would this sort of man think of the Doctor's adventures and history?

"John Smith, he seems to have an interest in you", Joan said.

"Don't say that, Matron".

"But it's true! He's dumbstruck with awe when you're around! He dragged all those poor perfectly healthy boys down to the infirmary, why do you think he did that?", she smiled.

"I'm sure he isn't interested in the way you're suggesting", she said, a little too colder than she wanted to sound.

"Jane, Jane", she scolded her. "If a man like that takes that sort of interest on you, you should at least consider it before turning it down".

"There's nothing to turn down, I mean it, Matron!", she let out. "Respectfully, of course", she tried to sound polite.

"Oh, me, I'm just a widow, but you're young! He's had these dreams about you, they're in his journal... he's obviously fascinated by you. And he is such a charming man... just imagine being Mrs. John Smith, wife of a respected teacher".

_Gosh, why did they go that fast in 1913?_ Let alone the Doctor and his constant state of heartbreak in which he seemed to endlessly mourn his loss of Rose, but John Smith had hardly spoken to her and the woman was already choosing flowers for the aisle.

"Matron, you're such a romantic", Zoe smiled at the kind woman.

She smiled back. "I am... I'd like to see you happy, Jane, sometimes you just seem so... lost. Hiding. Funny enough, you and Mr. John Smith should dream about... hiding together!", she giggled.

"You're the one dreaming here", she said, grinning.

"Yes, yes, I'm a romantic, I'm a dreamer, I wish upon shooting stars...", she said, waving her hands in the air to cover her shyness in admitting her weak points about romance, looking at the sky. "Look".

Zoe watched up. The sky really was full of stars. Early century, not that much artificial lights to outshine the natural beauty of the universe. She wondered which one was which, out of the different places she ended up with the Doctor, aware that she would never know - he usually just pointed at the sky saying "There", but nor her nor Martha nor Amy had any chance of knowing if he was actually pointing at the planet they just left. Her gaze was still lost up, when a sudden green light flared into and out of existence.

"What...", Joan said, as she had seen it too. "A... shooting star?".

Before they knew, the same light came back brighter than before. Closer, much closer than before. It hovered right above their heads, a green beam shining down on them, as they shielded their eyes. As fast as it came it went along, and as they turned around to follow it with their eyes they saw the beam light up again and drift along the countryside, before going out.

Zoe wasn't there when the Family started chasing after the Doctor, so she didn't know what they looked like or how they travelled, but she felt a sudden feeling of panic growing from her chest. She grabbed the Matron's hand and did what she did best with the Doctor: running. _Shooting star my arse_, she thought.

#####################################

Martha sprinted on her feet, startling Jenny, her friend, as soon as she saw Zoe and the Matron appearing at the corner.

"Jane! Matron! Are you alright?"

"Did you see that?", Joan replied, so breathless she apparently didn't notice Martha calling Zoe Jane with such intimacy. "There was something in the woods... this light...?".

Zoe looked at Martha, worried, as the Doctor walked out of the pub, a transfixed gaze on his eyes. For a second the girls thought John Smith was gone and he was back, as he looked at the sky where Joan pointed, as the green light passed by again.

"Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all".

Nope. Not the Doctor. He would have rambled on for at least five minutes on why the light was green.

"It came down in the woods", the Matron said.

"No, no, they look close, but they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school", he said, expectantly, to the Matron and Zoe. "Ladies?", he asked Martha and Jenny.

"No, we're fine, thanks", Martha replied, nodding at Zoe, who stepped forward to her.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Smith, I'll stay with the girls".

"Oh...", he said, without hiding his disappointment. "Then I shall bid you goodnight".

As they walked away, Zoe turned to Martha. "We have to go and check what it was".

"Where was that, Jenny? On the horizon, where the light was headed", Martha asked.

"That's by Cooper's Field", Jenny said, as the two girls started running. "You can't just run off! It's dark, you'll break a leg!", she called as they were already distant, and started following them.

A little ahead, Zoe and Martha tried to whisper to each other, running.

"Do you think it's them?".

"How would I know, I never saw them!".

"Me neither. They were chasing us, I just ran! Didn't take a proper look!".

"But that wasn't a shooting star, I'd bet on it".

"Definitely not a meteorite. God I wish he was here!".

"It would nice to know at least what they look like", Zoe added, panting as they stopped in the dark field.

"There y'are... Nothing there. I told you so", Jenny said, catching up with them.

"And that's Cooper's Field?", Martha asked.

"As far as the eye can see, and no falling star. Now come on, I'm frozen to the bone, let's go. As your Mr. Smith says, _nothing to see_", Jenny complained, striding away.

Zoe and Martha gave the field one last look, before following her.

"Does the video say anything about meteors?", Zoe asked.

"Dunno. I'll go and check it tomorrow". Martha sighed. "In the meantime...that journal... maybe you should check it after all", Martha said. "Just promise me you'll skip the parts about you".

"No spoilers, I promise", Zoe said, before turning to walk away with her.

##########################################

Joan Redfern, the romantic, was delighted when Zoe asked her permission to take a look at John Smith's journal of impossible things.

The pages were similar to ancient sketchbooks she had studied at school, full of scribbles and quick sketches. Zoe turned the pages in awe, recognizing familiar aliens and faces - the cybermen and the Slitheen family who invaded 10 Downing Street amongst the others, and a detailed picture of a watch, the same that was now in John Smith study, laying unnoticed on the mantelpiece.

As promised to Martha, she tried not to look at the pages where she was mentioned, although she couldn't help but notice a half-page portrait of herself. The page was half empty and the writing under it was too clear and isolated for her eyes to ignore it. _The girl with two hearts, she kisses me when I least expect it. _She ran a finger on the painting, following its lines. Her face, skewy hair, pierced ears, nose, lip and eyebrow, was fierce and proud, with an enigmatic tone. She couldn't decipher if the girl was angry, sad or just thoughtful, and oddly thought she often caught that same expression on the Doctor's face. _Is this how he sees me?_, she asked herself.

So, _Chloe_ had a thing for the Doctor. The easiness with which she had tricked her and Jack in 1941 and how she was just pretending to be her in 1969 with the Doctor scared Zoe. She wasn't manipulative, and despite working in a hard, competitive environment - showbusiness - she never was vendicative; she rarely held a grudge, and even when she did, the longest lasted six hours. How would she become someone like that?

Trying to focus on the Family was hard and the book didn't reveal any hint or clues about them. The Doctor had written_ I almost feel like a fugitive_, but it was in a page where a detailed sketch of the TARDIS was inked in black and blue, and even Zoe realized it wasn't related to the current situation, but with a much more complex kind of escape.

He rarely spoke about Time Lords or Gallifrey, but as much as Zoe and Martha knew, there had been a war, he ended it, and was the only one left. Grief, regret, loneliness were sadly recurring themes in the adventures John Smith dreamt about the Doctor. Zoe clouded, impressed at the endless effort the Doctor put into appearing cheerful, hyper and manic while being constantly torn apart by emotions.

She knew something was wrong with him, of course, and his moments of darkness were honestly scary - _the Oncoming Storm_, his enemies had called him - but he tried so hard to hide his feelings, and John Smith was revealing them all. No matter how hard he tried to look perfectly fine, _the king of okay_, he was never just fine.

Rose Tyler. The portrait of her was surrounded by sad, bitter words of longing. _My perfect Rose_, the page said. _In my dreams she keeps walking away_. His detailed accounts of their adventures together were painful enough to read, and Zoe had never experienced that kind of affection and love with anyone, and couldn't bring herself to imagine what it felt like for them.

She read about the battle of Canary Wharf, and although John's dream wasn't very detailed, she learned of how things went for the Doctor and Rose, and felt guilty about creating the cybermen for that films, and tried to imagine the Doctor's feelings at having to face them again after they costed him his perfect companion.

She thought about London, and that desperate phone call in which Mickey sent a missile to 10 Downing St. Zoe had only met Rose a couple of times, but the way she and the Doctor were always there for each other, and his concern about the girl were undeniable. It was clear they had something special.

Even grumpy leather jacket Doctor smiled everytime she held his hand, and her laughter was contagious. She knew Rose was kind and goodhearted, but wasn't afraid to risk her life or take action when necessary; what she only learned reading bits and pieces of that journal was that Rose made the Doctor better, and Zoe allowed herself to smile bitterly, feeling somehow regretful at realizing she learned and was still learning so much from him, but had nothing special to give in return.

############################################

John Smith was very different from the Doctor, Zoe considered again, as she and Nurse Redfern were looking at the boys training with a machine gun. Timothy Latimer, a kind and clever boy who was known for hiding his own brain and doing his schoolmates' homeworks, was questioning the point of firing on scarecrows, imagining they were tribesmen with only spears to defend theirselves.

Zoe shivered as the very different man from the Doctor gave the boys permission to beat Latimer. One of the older boys, Baines, sniffed loudly in passing beside the Doctor, tilting his head. His face gave Zoe the creeps.

"Anything the matter, Baines?", he asked him.

"I thought... No sir, nothing, sir".

The Doctor turned to look at Zoe and Joan, and gave a nod in their direction.

"Nurse Redfern, Miss Richards", he politely said.

"I'll give you back your journal when next I see you, Sir", Zoe said, nodding.

"No, no, no, you don't have to", he smiled, but noticed they were somehow troubled.

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Smith, I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot", Joan said, surprising both Zoe and Mr. John Smith, as she walked away.

"No wonder she gets upset when she sees the boys training", he noted.

Zoe looked at him, straight into his eyes, searching for the Doctor's lost wisdom, while he kept looking at the boys.

"You don't need to lose a husband to know this is wrong", she said harshly, waving a hand in the direction of the boys fighting with scarecrows, catching his attention. "That too", she added, watching Tim Latimer walk by, holding his arms.

He thoughtfully bowed his head as she walked away to follow Nurse Redfern.

###################################

"My brother died in a battle", Zoe admitted, as they walked through the village. She hoped they wouldn't ask which battle, because Fallujah, Iraq was probably going to sound too exotic for 1913, and she didn't remember which battles would sound believable before World War I.

"I didn't know. He must had been very young", Nurse Redfern said, padding her shoulder. "What happened?".

_He was a bomb disposal expert and something went wrong_."He was shot", Zoe said, coldly.

"So was my husband. His name was Oliver. He died in the battle of Spy-On-Cope. We were childhood sweethearts... but you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time".

"You still are", the Doctor replied. "You too", he added, nodding at Zoe.

"And yet we find ourselves as part of that school, watching boys learn how to kill", Joan bitterly said.

"Don't you think discipline is good for them?".

"Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war those boys won't find it so amusing", the woman questioned again. _Another war? There's always a war somewhere_, Zoe thought.

"Well, Great Britain's at peace, long may it reign", he stated, as a ritual formula.

Two men were straining with a rope to winch a piano up outside a building. The rope didn't seem to do too well.

"In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. 1914", Joan said, hesitantly.

"That was just a dream", he apologised. _No it wasn't_.

"_A shadow falling across the entire world_", Zoe quoted from his description. All she knew about wars were her brother's accounts from the Middle East, and she had been lucky to run into Captain Jack Harkness, during the London Blitz, but 1914... one thing was to read about World War I in a history schoolbook, another one was living it, and the Doctor had clearly been there at some point.

"Well, then we can be thankful it's not true. And I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself - everyday life can provide honour and valour and... let's hope that from now on, this... this country can... can find its heroes in smaller places..." He started to sound distracted by something, and they stopped as he searched around with his eyes. "...in the most...", he kept on, "...ordinary...", he quickly moved his gaze around, "...of deeds". In saying the last word, he snatched a cricket ball from a young boy who was passing by them.

He pitched it at a bundle of spare scaffolding poles standing outside the ironmongers shop: the poles fell, hitting a plank of wood, with a brick on the end; said brick flew into the air, up and over the piano as the rope snapped and the piano started to hurtle to the ground; the brick hit a milk churn on a cart, sending it falling into the path of a woman walking with a pushchair.

The woman screamed, startled, watching the piano hit the floor, smashing just two steps ahead of her baby. The workmen rushed to check on the crying baby and the mother, while Zoe giggled, as Joan and the Doctor looked in amazement at the result of his hit, both stunned.

"Lucky...", he said, unbelievingly.

"That was luck?", Joan asked, awestruck. Zoe grinned broadly. The Doctor wasn't new to tricks like this, but the surprise on John Smith's face was the sweetest thing.

He seemed to be taking courage. "Jane, Joan, might I invite you to the village dance this evening? As my guests?".

Zoe smiled, looking at him, while Nurse Redfern blushed. "You extraordinary man!", she said. Zoe nodded at his genuinely glad expression. They walked away, as he turned to look at the unexpected scene location once again.

They walked back to the school grounds, chatting happily. The bad mood about warfare was vanished, replaced by a vague feeling of lightness and cheer.

"It's all becoming clear now - the Doctor is the man you'd like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls", Joan stated, as he giggled. Zoe wasn't that sure, though. This man John Smith was maybe naive and an innocent soul, but she imagined the Doctor's relief from his burden of history, loneliness, and sorrow, had he known.

"Well, I discovered a talent, that's certainly true!", he smiled.

"But the Doctor has an eye for the ladies!", she teased him again.

"The devil!", he commented, grinning.

"A girl at every fireplace!", Joan kept on.

"Now, there I have to protest, Joan, that's hardly me!".

"Says the man who invited not one, but two girls to the dance tonight...!", Zoe cut in, earning his tenderly blushing gaze, before he was distracted with an oddly looking scarecrow.

They crossed the furrows to reach it, and he started stretching it across its frame back into place.

"Ever the artist. Where did you learn to draw?", Joan asked him.

"Gallifrey", he said, surprising Zoe with the quickness of his answer.

"Is.. is that in Ireland?", she tried to cover.

"Yes, it must be, yes".

He stood back looking at the scarecrow. "Well, my work is done, what do you think?".

"Masterpiece", Joan said.

"All sorts of skills today!", he said, as they all went laughing back to the pebbled road. Just for a second, Zoe was sure the scarecrow turned his head to their direction.

######################################

Joan Redfern was really putting an effort in bringing them together, Zoe thought while posing uncomfortably on the sofa in John Smith's study. They had stopped at the pub, and halfway through the first pint he had asked Jane permission to draw her likeness, because the girl he dreamt of was slightly different, he claimed, and he wanted to do her justice. The Matron suddenly blabbered something about an impending business and left them alone at the table, and Zoe felt her grip loosen as she took an hesitant first sip of beer under his expectant eyes.

"How could you let them beat that boy?", she asked, out of nowhere.

"Latimer? I was just trying to teach him something".

"Teach? By letting him be beaten by those older boys?", she repeated, unconvinced. "The taller one, Baines, his looks give me the creeps".

"Well, Miss Jane, Timothy Latimer is a smart boy, but he needs to stand up for himself. I thought that perhaps, given such a circumstance, he would proof himself able to defend himself. Instead of his usual way of being scorned and used by his schoolmates. I tried to talk to him, invited him to the study. Do you know he purposedly adds errors to his test so he doesn't stand out as the clever nerd? He's the one doing all his class coursework, and it's like his hiding his true consciousness".

"That's unfair. Hiding his consciousness...", she commented. "Reminds me of someone I know".

Suddenly, he changed his tone.

"Someone special? See, I never asked, miss Jane, uhm, but... do you have someone... you know, someone special, back in London?".

"No", she replied, faster than she aimed for. "No, I don't".

"Now _that's_ unfair", he stated.

Sitting on that sofa, just a little tipsy - she had been sober for almost two years - she felt drained by his focused studying eyes as he quickly moved the charcoal stick up and down, and as soon as he lowered the book, she sighed nervously.

He moved to sit next to her on the sofa, showing her the page. Zoe gasped in surprise, mentally comparing the portrait she was looking at with the other. In this one, plain Jane was looking dreamily at the horizon, her eyes shining in wonder. Her features were faithful to her face, but although she always saw herself with the hard, bony and edgy face he had pictured from his dreams memories, in this new one he managed to have her face look soft and gentle. That was the way John Smith saw Jane Richards, nurse-in-training, in 1913, not definitely how the Doctor looked at _Zoe_ Richards, whenever they were from.

"You've made me far too... beautiful, Sir", she admitted, with a bitter smile.

"Well... That's how I see you", he said, fondly. "And please, don't call me Sir... I look forward to dancing with you, tonight", he said, shyly, lowering his gaze. "I... uhm, I invited both of you because I like Joan, uhm, as a friend, but... it's you I'm really interested in, Jane", he said nervously. "I dreamt about you".

Flirting Doctor. That was a new one. Zoe felt about to burst into laughter, and tried to break the tension.

"Oh, I see... So you did about all those other girls in this book!", she teased him. "Maybe they're real too, somewhere".

"I don't care about them... They're just imagination", he said, picking up courage. "You're real. You're so real, and beautiful".

"Am I?", Zoe replied, with a smile she reckoned a bit too flirty, and tried to correct herself. "I don't feel that beautiful". Especially in this awful nursing uniform. "I don't even feel real", she added, bitterly.

"Don't think so low of yourself, Jane. That's not fair. You're precious", he gently said, brushing the side of her hair, fondly. "You're precious... to me", he said, leaning in towards her, just inches from her face, his eyes fixed on her lips. Zoe looked at his puppy brown eyes, his innocent, loving gaze trembling in scare and relief at the same time.

Before she knew, he closed the distance and gently kissed her lips. Startled, she drew back in an instant, and he coyly put his forehead against hers, lowering his gaze. "I've never... um...", he said, before letting his emotions take over, and kissed her again.

Zoe never believed in fairytales and she hated when in films people claimed to fall in love because of the way someone kissed. She was a decent kisser - she'd been told - but all she ever felt was desire and lust, not love, not empathy, not longing. Yet the way he touched her lips with his, shaking in shyness and tenderness, was just so innocent and devoted, and surprising to her that for a brief, unforgivable second she forgot who he really was, and allowed Jane to kiss John back.

Except her instincts didn't agree, and expertly she pulled him closer by grabbing his collar with a hand, her other hand searching for his hair at the base of his neck. She tilted her head to follow him, as he stopped for air, unbelieving, before kissing her again, craving more contact with her warm body, so he pulled his hands free and wrapped his arms around her, gently holding the small of her back, as his mouth kept moving onto hers.

He didn't dare to deepen the kiss past her lips, but he felt hers fall again upon his, and her arms wrapping more tightly around his neck as he kissed her fervently. She let him take the lead and soon the pace of their kiss fastened, and from a timid first kiss it slowly became pleasured and sensual; as their lips moved, he nibbled her lower lip and she let his tongue caress hers, more and more possessively, as his hunger for her grew stronger.

He allowed himself more space on the sofa, as with a hand he tried to ease her into laying on her back, and as soon as his body was on top of hers, he stroke her cheek, fondly, extatic, eager to kiss her again, breathlessly, and Zoe realized that just by letting his first kiss turn into a proper snog she was breaking the boundaries of foreplay.

With the last sentient bit of her head, she thought she heard the door rattling and tentatively put a hand on his chest, to push him away. He didn't just draw back, he almost jumped to sit, exactly as Martha walked into the room, fast enough to see their kiss breaking and Zoe sitting up, furtively.

"Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?", he snorted at her.

Zoe tried to hide her ashamed face in her hands, but that didn't stop her from seeing and feeling Martha's shocked and betrayed look, and as soon as the girl scurried back out of the door, closing it behind her, she knew she had just made her biggest mistake ever.

**A/N SOOOOO, I told you a lot was happening. I'll admit I'm having trouble getting out of this adventure as with what happens next, but I uploaded this to give me purpose and keep writing even if I'm feeling a bit stuck in 1913 too... next update will be around next week. hope you liked it! Please review! **


	24. Hungover

**24 - Hungover**

"Four, you. Don't let me abandon you", the Doctor said, from the screen.

Martha sighed, taken aback. She had been rewinding that videotape for an hour, on the edge of tears, mostly out of anger than sadness. What was Zoe thinking? He barely mentioned her in the video. No matter how fast they had tried to hide it, she saw them. Snogging on the sofa like horny teenagers.

That wasn't fair. The Doctor was in love with Rose, or at least he was still recovering from losing her. Joan Redfern had set her eyes on him since day one, but Zoe? How could she do that? To her? And to him? She was supposed to be her friend. Zoe was older, and often teased Martha about her obvious crush over the Doctor, but she never expected her to turn the cards that way.

All this time since Zoe had joined them, she tried to reassure herself that nothing was going on between them, that Zoe was just a little too effusive in a way that Martha misunderstood for flirting, and the first time they talked about it Zoe told her it was just innocent, that she had no feelings for him in that way. Besides, she claimed she wasn't girlfriend material. And now, this. Was Zoe trying to get into a casual affair with him?

Martha was past beyond jealousy now, she just felt coldly and sadly disappointed. That Zoe, who she cared that much about, could have been that selfish and low. She felt hurt and more alone than ever. Little did she know Zoe felt exactly the same.

#######################################

He had made an attempt to resume what they were doing before Martha's interrupting them, but she had quickly jumped on her feet, running to a glass cabinet to check her hair and fix the bobby pins in her hair, as quickly as she could.

Zoe was still catching breath when he walked over her shoulders and put his hands on her waist, gently. She turned as if she got an electric shock, her cheeks fully red, both from arousal and shame.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't...", she started, looking down.

He put a finger on her lips to silence her, smiling, and lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

"I... I wasn't expecting... I got... er... carried away...". He was trying to make excuses for her. _God, this John Smith_. "I mean, I know you're... honourable...".

Zoe snapped. "No, you don't".

He looked disappointed, but his arms grabbed her elbows and he rested his chin on the top of her head, caressing her back, releasing a breath he was unaware of holding.

"Well, then, I don't know if you are honourable", he giggled, "But I don't care".

Zoe had trouble breathing. She was now completely lucid and sobered and had no trouble seeing what she had done for what it was. Trying not to look too harsh, she pulled out of his clumsy hug and straightened her dress.

"Uh, I... I'd better go and get dressed for the dance", she said. Her hand quickly moved over to her neck, where she nervously rubbed her collarbone in the empty spot left by her missing necklace.

"Oh! Yes, yes, of course, I..", he blabbered, smiling, equally nervous, rubbing the base of his neck, where his hair was now all ruffled. "I'll see you later, Jane".

Before she was out of the door he caught her hand and pulled her in for a quick kiss on her lips. Zoe felt a tear in the corner of her eye and walked out as fast as she could.

##########################################

Zoe let Joan curl her hair and style them with an iron, but not even her complaints about her funny looking haircut could pull her out of her fazed dreamy state, her mind was too busy overthinking what happened just earlier.

Guilt. In just a move, she had: led innocent and naive Mr. John Smith into thinking his feelings for her were reciprocated; shattered whatever beliefs he had about innocent and naive girls of 1913, who were probably a lot less enthusiastic about ravishly snogging on a sofa without a wedding ring on their finger; hurt, betrayed and let down Martha, who was at the moment her only friend - she hadn't gotten very close to Amy, she liked her but she hadn't seen her that much - and the one she was supposed to be backup for if the Family found them; also, ruined her friendship, and almost surely lost any respect in the Doctor's eyes once he would be back in his Time Lord consciousness; and finally, took up drinking again.

Plain Jane. The TARDIS made the Doctor into an imaginary character, and Zoe made herself this Jane persona, because everything about her just wouldn't fit in 1913: her looks, her past, her job, her attitude. What started as a carefully controlled act soon became a silly game, and the silly game turned into a teasing challenge. She lost control of it the instant she saw love in the eyes of John Smith, and didn't call it off, but willingly played along. Old habits die hard. Paying the consequences wasn't ever something that bothered her, but the Doctor had taught her better. Yet she had chosen the wrong path, again. There was no Jane to kiss John Smith, plain Zoe kissed the Doctor.

Martha. Zoe had suspected Martha had a huge crush on the Doctor since that early first conversation while they were locked in the elevator, and the more she got to know her and him, the clearer it was. Like an older sister, she had teased her about her glimpses and lost gazes, and her choice of words, and the rolling of eyes on those rare occasions when Rose was ever mentioned, and Martha's attempts to joke back with her were unsuccessfully trying to cover up her real feelings towards the Doctor. What would Martha think now? How could she face her again?

"Ouch!", she cried when Joan accidentally bumped the chair she was sitting on, causing her bust to hit the small vanity table.

"Sorry!", the woman replied. "I'm distracted by how pretty you look tonight!", she said, smiling.

"Yeah...", Zoe said, out of enthusiasm. "I'm not exactly looking forward to the dance".

"Oh, why not? It's a party! We'll distract ourselves from our daily ordinary life... live a little! And then... who knows? It's clear that man is attracted to you!".

Attraction. How could she have been that selfish? And why? To enjoy that mindblowing snog? She never thought about him that way; he was surely good looking enough, and despite his being overprotective and patronizing and constantly bragging about his superior intellect, she didn't see him as a father figure, but he was clearly still hung up on Rose, and she had no intention of having an affair with him. She valued him too much, and was clever enough to know that was an unsaid deal breaker, and it never crossed her mind before that afternoon, in his study.

Friendship. She was concentrating so hard on changing things, on rewriting time and avoid whatever caused the coldness between them, that she ended up letting her control wave away from her hands in the last situation she would have expected. No wonder they were so angry. This was a mistake and she knew it, but she chose to ignore it. Just because it felt so good to be kissed with such love and passion. Yet it was all fake. He was playing an unaware lover, and she was pretending to love him. Yet she went through with it anyway.

Drinks. She couldn't blame it on the pint she drained in the pub when Joan left them alone, she had been sober for a long time now, but her body was still trained on much more disturbing alchool quantities; she couldn't blame drinking that pint on the fact they were left alone and she couldn't switch glasses with anyone: a month in 1913, and every night she found herself smugly thinking she only didn't drink for precaution, that a pint couldn't hurt that much. She wasn't drunk, she didn't lose control of her mind, she didn't feel dizzy or over confident, she had just been a little tipsy. A list of things she had successfully accomplished in her past, a lot drunker than that, included: filling out the art academy application; driving all the way to France in a caravan; sitting through her brother's funeral service; restrain to burst out laughing during an unvoluntarily hilarious theatre performance of the Vagina Monologues by a close friend. No, she didn't kiss him because she was drunk. But she had slipped into drinking again, and already felt the need for something stronger.

She got up and looked at the girl in the mirror, with gently curled hair and a dark green embroidered gown Joan had lent her. Despite the corset, her almost flat chest didn't push up like the current fashion required, and they had to try with belts and last-minute repairs to get the dress to fit properly, and still - it didn't. Zoe really felt out of place.

"Well, at least it's a party", she mumbled, more to herself than to Joan, and followed the smiling woman out of the room.

#################################

"You two!", John Smith cheered from the door of his study. "You look wonderful", he said, without taking his eyes off Zoe.

Joan Redfern was a smart woman, and knew when she was the third wheel.

"I'll just go get my... gloves, I think I left them in the infirmary today", she said, and without letting anyone stop her, she walked off.

As soon as she left the room, the man walked closely to Zoe.

"You really look beautiful", he said, softly. "Shall I ask you to dance?", he smiled, confident.

Zoe couldn't help but giggle. "Can you actually dance?".

"Uh. I'm... not certain...", he said, thinking.

"Of course you're not. You're never certain about anything!", she said, trying to break the tension, although she was slipping too much out of her Jane character.

And then, shy and goofy Mr. John Smith said something a lot more out of character.

"Well, I'm certain that I love you".

As Zoe was left speechless, he gently cupped her face and kissed her lips again, tenderly, more as an invitation than a statement. Surprised, Zoe moved back away a second too late, and just at the same time, Martha and Joan burst into the room,

"They've found us!" she cried, alarmed, to both of them, trying to go past the fact she interrupted them again.

"This is ridicolous - I tried to stop her, but she didn't listen to me", Joan added, confused by the girl's rudeness and improper behaviour.

"Martha, I've warned you", the Doctor said. Zoe couldn't bear the shame in looking at Martha, but she knew exactly what she meant, and the worry was starting to show on her face too.

"They've found us, and I've seen them - they look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watch-", she told them, looking at the mantelpiece, where the watch had always been. "Where is it?". Panicking, Martha started rummaging through the things on the mantelpiece. "Oh my god, where's it gone? Where's the watch?", she said, looking at him and Zoe.

"What are you talking about?", he asked, unbelieving.

"You had a watch, a fob watch, Right there!".

"Did I? I don't remember", he curiously doubted.

"I can't see what concern it is of yours", Joan added, coldly.

"But we need it... oh my God, Doctor! We're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've... possessed her or copied her or something and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?".

Zoe was silently searching the room with her eyes, when he finally dropped her hand, to reach for his journal.

"Oh, I see...", he realized, then turned to Joan and Zoe, quieter. "Cultural differences", he tried to explain, picking up the book. "It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story".

His tone was so condiscending and patronizing that even Zoe felt offended, but Martha really clicked.

"...You complete... Oh, god, can you help me? Feel free to jump in anytime, uh?", she groaned to him and Zoe, and then turned to the Doctor again, who looked at the glance between the two girls, in confusion. "...this", she said, waving her finger to indicate him, "is not you. This is 1913".

"Good. This is 1913", he confirmed.

"Oh would you say something at least? Or well, at the very least please stop snogging him?" She said to the still silent Zoe. "And I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but I've got to snap you out of this", she said, reaching back her hand.

She slapped him hard across the face.

"Martha!", Joan shouted, in disbelief.

"Wake up! You're coming back to the TARDIS with me!", she said, grabbing his hand while he was still in shock, trying to pull him along.

"How dare you! I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant! Martha, you are dismissed, you will leave these premises immediatley. Now! Get out!" he said, quickly diverting her grip on him to drag her to the door and puch her out.

"Nerve of it, absolute cheek! You think I'm a fantasist, what about her?".

Zoe couldn't stand it anymore and rushed to the door, as Joan spoke.

"Funny thing is, you did have a fob watch. Right there. Don't you remember?".

"Well I... Where... What? What about the dance?", he asked, distracted, to Zoe, as she passed the door.

Her only, bizarre answer was "Find the watch".

#####################################

"Martha! Where are you going?", she screamed after her.

The girl turned around, frowning, but didn't stop.

"I.. I don't know! The TARDIS? I can't think... aw", she sighed, still running.

"Wait! Let me help you find that watch!".

"Don't you think you've helped enough?", she scorned, pausing. She looked coldly at Zoe, confused. "Look, he _clearly_ is more likely to trust you right now, so... just go back and keep an eye on him. It seems like _we_ must protect him from the Family".

"And how are we supposed to do that?", Zoe asked, worried.

"I... I don't know. Just... _ugh_. Just stay close to him", she said.

"Martha", Zoe started, apologetically. "About what you saw earlier...".

"Seriously?", Martha cut her off, visibly angry. "Do you think now it's a good time to talk about... that?", she breathed. "Are you really that selfish?", she asked, unbelievingly.

Zoe stood speechless, unable to reply to that, silently agreeing with her friend.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, just go!", Martha yelled before running away.

Zoe took a deep breath and started walking to the village, her pace becoming quicker at every step. _We must protect him_. The human who didn't know he was the Doctor wasn't fun at all. How were they supposed to protect him, and stop the Family from killing anyone? If the Doctor himself couldn't do anything else but run and hide, how could they stand a chance? She had to find that watch and bring the Doctor back. John Smith's imminent heartbreak was a lot less important now.

As soon as the dance hall was in her sight, Zoe shivered in noticing two scarecrows hidden in the foliage outside. She spotted the Doctor, walking to the door, his arm linked politely to nurse Redfern's on his side. Zoe felt her rush of fear being replaced by sadness about everything and stopped suddenly, when Timothy Latimer, who was running by, inadvertently bumped into her.

"Oh, sorry", she said, recollecting her toughts, trying to gather some strenght and focus. Tim kept running then turned around, surprised, glaring at her. "Zoe?", he called.

"Not now, Timothy", she said, already walking to the dance hall door, without looking back nor realizing the boy knew her name.

#############################################

Zoe was at the bar, about to get her second drink, her hand uncomfortably trembling, under the lost gaze of John Smith.

"I'm sorry about Martha, she must have upset you with her nonsense", he said, placing his hand over hers, reassuringly.

"It's not that", she mumbled, almost inaudibly. "I'm afraid I had too much to drink", she slipped.

"Well then, easily sorted", he smiled, and took the glass from her hand, emptying it in one sip. "Shall we dance, Miss Richards?".

The expectation in his eyes was too much for Zoe, and she just nodded. _What am I doing?_, she asked herself, aware that the more she indulged in that situation, the worst the outcome would be.

Gently, he placed his hand on her back and guided her waltzing around the room. He turned out to be a surprisingly expert gentleman, their lean bodies twirling elegantly through the people in the room. Zoe wasn't such a good dancer, but the reason she didn't dare take her eyes off their feet was that she couldn't stand his grinning adoring look.

When the music stopped, he kindly lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him, and was about to say something when he spotted Martha talking to Joan.

"You're nice, and I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do", she was telling the nurse.

"Oh, now, really, Martha, this is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave", he said, dropping his tone at the end of the sentence as Martha showed him an unusual object, something like a metal pen. He never saw something that shiny bright, and for a second his surprised frown made Zoe think he might have recognized his sonic screwdriver.

"Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it", Martha suggested.

"John, what is that silly thing? John?", Joan asked, worried.

He slowly took it off Martha's hands and turned it over in his hands, studying it. He turned to Zoe, his heartbeat fastening.

"Did I... did I draw this? In the journal? Or did I just dream it?", he mumbled, trying to find an answer in Zoe's shaking look.

"You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's _you_". Martha said, heavily.

A man from the village, Mr. Clarke, Baines, the student who gave Zoe the creeps, and Jenny, Martha's friend entered the room as he was still lost in thoughts, shocked, and didn't hear what was going on.

"It's them", Martha said to Zoe.

Zoe stepped closer to him and took his hand, protectively. "Listen to me", she whispered. "Don't say a word. Everything is going to be all fine", she tried to smile, but he still looked dazed, until he heard them saying his name.

"We have a few questions for Mr. Smith", Baines said.

He snapped back to reality in time to hear the little girl speak.

"No, better than that", she said, joining Baines and Mr. Clarke, "The teacher, he's the Doctor. I heard them talking".

Martha took Zoe away from him and whispered in her ear. "Whatever happens now, you run, do you understand?". They both heard Baines comment about the Doctor taking human form.

"I'm not leaving you behind. Any of you", Zoe protested, resolutely.

"No, no, no", Martha said, angry. "You jumped forward. Whatever happens here, you and the Doctor get out of here alive. Is that clear?", she cried.

"He's no good like this", Jenny said, laughing.

"We need a Time Lord", Mr. Clark added.

Baines raised his gun, aiming at the Doctor. "Easily done", he said. "Change back", he ordered him, as the human John Smith retracted backwards, terrified.

"I don't know what you're talking about", he cried.

"Change back!", Baines repeated, raising his voice.

"I literally don't know-", he started, and as he was speaking Jenny took hold of Martha, pointing a gun to her head.

"Get off me!" she screamed, struggling. "Zoe!_ Run_!".

In hearing her name again, Zoe had a sudden moment of realization and knew right away where the watch was. She gave Martha a worried but confident look and turned around to run, as John Smith startled in confusion.

Only as she left the room Jenny said something about "the maid", Martha, telling her about Smith and the nurse, and Mr. Clarke grabbed Joan, thinking she was John Smith's love interest.

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human?", Baines mocked him, as he glanced in the direction of Zoe, quickly. "Has it taught you wonderful things, are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend - or your lover? Your choice".

Zoe, unnoticed, stopped in the hallway to look back at what was happening when she didn't hear him answer. She watched him tremble and shiver and was about to leave when she spotted Tim Latimer in the corner of the room.

"Make your decision, Mr. Smith", Jenny said, with that creepy smile that Zoe began to recognize as a running feature in the Family.

Martha let her hopes down for a second, thinking that Zoe was their only hope of getting out of it alive. But she couldn't help but wonder what sort of man he was, as he failed to correct Mr. Clarke, leading him on in believing Joan was his lover, putting her in so much danger just to ensure his precious Miss Jane Richards could leave.

"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge", Baines suggested.

Zoe tried to wave at Tim, but he didn't see her, and in disbelief she saw him slowly pull out the watch from his jacket pocket... and open it.

**A/N Yeeeah, I know it's been forever. Sorry! I'm under pressure at work and can't find the time to write because of other things happening in real life, and that's all my fault; also Zoe is riskily standing on the edge of some GIANT plot hole so I don't want to rush anything... anyway hope you liked it, and I'll try to get to update soon in the next weekends ç_ç (apart from that, did you see season 7? do you think I should include some of that too?)**


	25. Who are you?

**A/N so so sorry it took me so long to get back at this. I didn't really have any spare time for ff lately and I was thinking of letting this go (as it didn't get that much response, too) but I hate to leave things unfinished. Also, this new season isn't the best so it made me want to go back to familiar characters. **

**Also I haven't updated in months but this is really really long.**

**25 - Who are you?**

The crowd rushing down the stairs and out of the dancehall forced Zoe to get out, and she only managed to stop outside the gate, looking around for Tim Latimer.

Just as her eyes met him, she heard the Doctor's voice. He was directing the people outside, Joan on his side.

"Mr. Hicks, go to the village", he said, "Get everyone out". He turned to Tim. "Latimer, get back to the school. Tell the headmaster-".

The boy shivered as the teacher raised his hand to push him.

"Don't touch me! You're as bad as them!", he screamed, running off.

John Smith saw Zoe, and his relieved look quickly turned to confusion as she harshly confronted him.

"Doctor! Where's Martha?".

He tried to speak, but it looked like words couldn't come. Zoe shook her head in dismay and turned to follow the boy, but he grabbed her arm, gently, as looking for balance. Joan, on his side, was speechless, looking as confused as him, but Zoe was too scared and angry to keep her act up, and stopped controlling her words.

"Now what?", she cried, struggling for him to let her go. She managed to get her arm free and frowned, again. "I can't believe you left her behind!"

"Jane...", he started, but she was already leaving.

"God, you're rubbish as a human", she mumbled, gathering her long and delicate dress to run.

"What... What did she just say?" he asked Joan.

She was about to answer, unsure about what she really heard, when Martha appeared out of the dance hall door. Zoe was already away and keeping her eyes on Latimer, but couldn't hold back a smile as she heard her voice, safe and yelling.

"Don't just stand there, move!" she loudly screamed, as she ran towards them. "God, you're rubbish as a human! Come on!".

* * *

Back inside the school, Zoe watched in silence as the terrified John Smith gathered the boys to set up the defence. She couldn't help but think there must have been another way, that these boys, although unaware, were already looking forward to WWI and it wasn't their destiny to die inside their own school, at the hands of _aliens_.

She focused on finding Timothy Latimer, who wasn't among the boys taking orders from. As she ran through the rooms upstairs, she caught a glimpse of the Doctor, peering on the outside as the principal and the secretary tried to reason with the aliens.

"Jane..." he started, as she approached him to look at the yard through the paneled window. "What... what do I do?" he tried to ask her, but she couldn't find the words. She walked closer and gently put a hand over his shoulder.

"I wish I knew", she answered, warily. Sadly she knew that only the Doctor could help them, but the man John Smith was still refusing to accept the truth.

"War is coming", Baines said before shooting at the innocent and unprepared Mr. Phillips.

A shocked shiver ran through John Smith's body and he turned to Zoe. But she was already running again. "There's no time to lose, John", she said, sadly, as he followed her to go downstairs and hear from the principal. Zoe felt sorry for leaving him while the struggle in his head was so hard, but she had to find Timothy Latimer and she knew the boy was still in the school.

"Jane!" She heard calling from behind. Joan Redfern was now wearing her uniform and approaching the stairs. "We're not doctors", she started, stressing the last word, "but we're still their nurses. These boys need us". It was almost a clear order, and Zoe could sense that the woman was disappointed in her. She had been a good friend to her, and to leave her right now, without chance of an explanation, was just horrible. Yet she had to.

"I'm sorry, Matron. There's something more important". She could feel how bad that sounded even as she said it, and the look on Joan's face only confirmed it. What possibly could be more important than the boys? Was that really the girl she had been theaching and befriending?

"Ja-", the woman said, confused. "Jane... I don't even know who you are". She said at last, as Zoe ran away. _I'm so so sorry, Joan, you really don't know_.

The search upstairs was however useless as the boy was nowhere to be seen. She hid behind a curtain when she heard footsteps and she realized the little girl from the Family, the Daughter, was inside the school. She ran back downstairs, only to bump into the Doctor as he gave instructions to the boys.

"Jane, it's not safe". She could see the pain in his eyes, how he was confused and scared and still trying to put up a brave act. But the man John Smith wasn't the Doctor, and as much as he could put an effort in saving them, Zoe just knew it wouldn't be enough. The violence and coldness with which the Family and their scarecrows army had killed people - at the dance, outside the schoolgates, and right in front of their eyes - left little room for hope, even if they weren't attacking the school yet. Frustrated, Zoe left out a sigh, holding his shoulders as to scold him.

"Yeah, well, I know. I need... well, we need, we all need you to come back, Doctor. Are you in there somewhere? Can you hear me?". Tears were starting to appear at the corner of her eyes. "Please?".

"Jane, I..." he was speechless, and even more scared now. He had sensed earlier that it wasn't just Martha talking nonsense, and now he knew for sure that Jane was somehow agreeing with her. "How can you think that I'm not real? When I kissed you, when I told you I loved you, was that a lie?". He asked her, with pleading eyes, his voice soft and deep.

_A lie doesn't even begin to describe it_, she thought, still looking around at the boys, searching for the blond head of Timothy Latimer. "No, it wasn't. Not to you, at least", she replied.

"But this Doctor, he sounds like some, some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that?". He looked so sad it was tearing Zoe apart to hold his gaze. "Am I not enough?".

"The Doctor... he's not a romantic lost prince. Or maybe he is. I don't care about romance, right now. He would know what to do", she said, turning suddenly, then on a second thought, facing him again. "And he knows- whatever, John, you know it too, those boys, they're children, and they already have a lot to fight for ahead of them. Even John Smith, this John Smith knows it's wrong to want them to fight, doesn't he?".

Even as his certainties fell apart and his feelings for the girl were shattered by her words, he knew he couldn't do much else. The Principal called for him from the other room.

"What choice do I have?", he asked her, although he wasn't really looking for an answer, and drawing her closer, he kissed her, desperately. Startled, she stood there for a second too late as he turned and walked quickly in the direction of the voice, and she caught a glimpse of Timothy Latimer running by.

"Ehi!", she called him, but he didn't stop. She ran after him until they were hiding in a corner upstairs.

"You know him, don't you?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice. "Which one are you?"

"Timothy, just give me the watch, we need him", Zoe pleaded.

"No! How... how do I know you're not helping them?". She could see that altough suspicious he was willing to trust her and was resting on her to give him just enough prove.

"I-" she started, but he interrupted her.

"Did you hear that?". He was looking at the watch in his hands as if a voice was talking from it.

"Hear what?"

"Beware of what?" The boy asked to the watch, and Zoe turned around as he did, although she didn't hear anything. The little girl was standing at the end of the corridor, menacing.

"Keep away!" Latimer warned her, trying to gather up his bravery.

"Who are you?" the girl asked, her voice cold and unnatural.

"We saw you at the dance. You were with the Family. You're one of them", Zoe stated, instinctively pushing the boy behind her to protect him. She wasn't armed, but she was pretty sure she had faced more aliens than the boy.

"What are you hiding?" the girl asked, ignoring Zoe.

"Nothing", Tim replied, Zoe's hand nervously holding his shoulder as he tightened his grip on the watch.

"What have you got there?", the girl insisted.

"Nothing".

"Show me, little boy". It was as it Zoe wasn't even there, and she realized the Family must have some way of knowing that Tim was somehow hiding the Time Lord and not her.

"You", Zoe said, trying to sound menacing. Before she could say anything, Tim stepped out of her grasp, his hand holding the watch. Zoe didn't even have the time to stop him before she realized something bad was about to happen.

"I reckon whatever you are, you're still in the shape of a girl", Tim said. "How strong is she, do you think? Does she really want to see this?".

"No, stop!" Zoe said, uselessly, as he opened the watch and a flash of golden energy hit the girl. She had seen that light before, in the TARDIS, whenever she jumped. Was that the stuff Time Lords were made of, she asked herself, as she held Timothy's hand and closed the watch.

He quickly retracted the hand, still not trusting her enough to pass the device to her.

"What did you do? They can smell that energy! They'll come looking for you now!", she cried, "Let's get out of here, fast".

* * *

As the battle kept going on at the school, they ran through the woods. Her only idea was to get to the TARDIS. What she didn't know was the spaceship was already guarded by their enemies.

"Out you come, Doctor! There's a good boy! Come to the Family!", she heard the creepy voice of Baines calling. Protectively, she put her hands on Tim's skinny shoulders, holding him down behind some bushes, but keeping an eye on the familiar blue box surrounded by scarecrows. They couldn't spot the Doctor or Martha anywhere, and the pair didn't run into them as they escaped so she hadn't had the time to tell her friend that the watch was in safe hands. Trembling, she hoped they were safely hidden as well and that they weren't desperate enough to think showing up to the Family was a good idea.

"Come out, Doctor! Come to us!", the Family chanted, from the field. Tim shivered again under Zoe's firm hold.

"Did you hear?" he asked Zoe, frantic.

She sensed she wasn't referring to the Family. "What? Is it the watch?".

"Let's go", he instructed her. "It's time", he added, leading the girl through the bushes and into the woods, until they approached a small group of buildings outside the village, where Tim turned into a cottage front yard and knocked at the door.

"Wait, wh-", Zoe warned him, again placing her hand on his shoulder, but Martha opened the door. The look on her face, to Zoe, only said _where the hell have you been._

"I brought you this", the kid said, fierce, showing her the watch.

The scene inside was unsettling. Zoe looked ashamed at Martha as she hopefully showed the watch to John Smith, and Joan, quietly sitting by, trying to make sense at how bad things were going. Zoe felt relieved that they were all safe for now, but she couldn't speak, paralized by the consequences of her actions on her friend and menthor of those months. And him, he was looking completely desperate and terrified now, studying her in confusion and disappointment. He was torn by fear, and betrayal was showing in his gaze whenever Zoe felt his eyes on her.

"Hold it", Martha pleaded.

"I won't", he stated, coldly.

"Please, just hold it", Zoe repeated.

"It told me to find you. It wants to be held", Tim added.

"You've had this watch all the time? Why didn't you return it?" Joan asked Tim.

"Because it was waiting, and because I was so scared of the Doctor", The boy replied.

"Why?" Joan insisted, as Martha and Zoe saw anxiety grow on John's face.

"Because I've seen him", the boy said, stepping ahead. "He's like fire, and ice, and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun-", he started.

John didn't want to hear that. "Stop it".

"He's ancient, and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe", he kept going.

"Stop it. I said stop it!", John pleaded, looking at Joan, who he now felt was the only one on his side.

"And he's wonderful", Timothy concluded. Martha and Zoe had a hint of pride at that, but it didn't help their cause.

"I've still got the journal", Joan said.

"Those are just stories", John replied.

"Now we know that's not true. Perhaps there's something in here", she added. Zoe was staring at her in admiration, this woman put in front of such exotic and unimaginable events and yet trying to figure it out and to stand by her friend.

Suddenly the whole cottage was shaking, and they all went to look outside the windows.

"What the hell?" Martha exclaimed when they saw fireballs falling to the village a little way away.

"They're destroying the village", Zoe noted. _We have to do something. Anything_.

"The watch", John instructed.

"John, don't", Joan warned, tentitavely.

John draw back to the wall, staring at the mysterious object.

"Can you hear it?", Tim asked.

"I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken", he answered.

"Why did he speak to me?".

"Oh, low level telepathic field, you were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-" startled, he caught a deep breath as a little relief appeared on Martha and Zoe's faces as they surprisingly recognized his voice. "-is that how he talks?".

"That's him. All you have to do is open it and he's back!", Martha smiled.

"You knew this all along and yet you watched while Jane... while Jane and I-", he complained.

"I didn't know how to stop you! And she should have known better, by the way", Martha interrupted him. "He gave me a list of things to watch out for, but that wasn't included".

Joan was still looking at the journal by the window, while Zoe felt shame as his eyes turned to her.

"Falling in love? that didn't even occur to him?".

"No", Martha replied, coldly.

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?". Panicking, he kept looking at Martha and Zoe, searching for answers, although Martha was the only one talking. Zoe couldn't help but think that, had herself been more careful, it would have been easier to talk John Smith into opening that damn watch once and for all.

"It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die". Martha was surely aware of how cold that sounded. "Like mayflies, he said".

"So your job was to execute me?", he asked her. "And you? Just making fun of me?", he said turning to Zoe.

"People are dying out there", Martha trailed off. "They need him and we need him. _I _need him. Because you've got no idea of what he's like. I've only just met him, and it wasn't even that long ago. But he is everything-" she said, quickly, with pride. "He's just everything to me and... he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care, because I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won't remember me saying this" she closed.

Zoe watched in awe at her friend's surprising approach and again she felt she was the only useless person in the room. Joan was still studying the journal for help, and she was frozen. She couldn't say a word, she couldn't hold his gaze as her betrayal was more and more evident to John. She needed to do something, anything, but there was nothing she could even try.

"It's getting closer", Tim warned as an explosion sounded much louder than the others.

"I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am", he tried.

"You can't do that!" Martha cried.

"If they want the Doctor they can have him".

"He'll never let you do it", Zoe said, sadly, finally confronting him. She felt poorly for the man, willing to sacrifice everything just to stay human as he was, and she felt a sting to her heart at the thought of how much the Doctor himself sometimes seemed to hang around humans just to be relieved of his burdens.

"If they get what they want, then, then-". He was scared and felt betrayed and he was still holding on to his human feelings, his feeling for her, and it was clear by the way he looked into her eyes. Joan interrupted him.

"Then it all ends in destruction. I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war, across the stars for every child", she said.

Desperate, he hugged Zoe. She let him cry into her shoulders for a moment, then turned up his chin and looked at him fondly. "If I could do this instead of you, then I would".

"He won't love you", he noted.

"That doesn't matter, it never did".

"Who are you?" he cried, again. "Why are you doing this to me? Is this all a joke to you people?".

"Martha, Jane, Timothy, would you leave us alone, please?" Joan asked gently, sensing both Martha and Zoe were putting him through too much too fast.

"It was real!" he kept on. "I wasn't. I really thought", he said to his friend, as the three exited the room, a shy look on Zoe's face.

Martha and Timothy sat on the bench just outside, in silence, but Zoe was uneasy, restless, walking back and forth on the cobblestone pavement. When she realized, just as Joan did, that she wasn't helping in the room and was invited outside she suddenly felt an urge, an instinctive need to act, to try and do something. The idea of just sitting there waiting was killing her.

"When he opened the watch before", she said to Martha, "there was a light. A golden light. Just like the light that scatters me around time and space".

"That's... oh, I don't really know", Martha blurted.

"Yeah, well, maybe there's something I can do", she said, suddenly running away.

"Wait, what? What are you doing? You're going to... Ugh!" she groaned, as Zoe failed to turn and answer, and hugged Tim as they kept their eyes on the fire devastating the village.

* * *

The head-tilting thing was seriously bothering her. She was on edge, on fire, acting on instinct and not rationalizing. Did it really matter what their faces and moves looked like when she was, with much chance, going to get killed?

"You travel with the Doctor", the Son said.

"She smells like time" Mother added.

For a second, Zoe had thought that maybe she really had a chance to stop them, that her mysterious mind would work the right triggers and point her to a solution she was unaware of, as she did with the gravity manipulator and the cybermen weapons. Yet walking into the Family spaceship at Cooper's field, her eyes didn't recognize anything, and she prepared herself to die at their laser guns. Time can be rewritten, she sadly repeated herself, didn't mean she could stop herself from getting the Doctor and Martha mad at her, it meant even if a future version of herself had met them, maybe she was going to die at that moment anyway, when Father hit her and fell to the ground.

"She's only a time traveler" Daughter stated, as they all sniffed loudly. "Not enough".

Zoe just kept staring at them with an angry face.

"You'll never get the Doctor. Me, this energy, that's the closest you'll get to him", she threathened them.

"He'll come to us". Son said, twisting his rigid smile again. "We'll blast them into dust, then fuse the dust into glass, then shatter them all over again". Zoe was disgusted by how much he was enjoying the destruction of the village.

The door swung open, and an unsteady Doctor walked in, as Zoe watched him, relieved.

"Just-", he started, and his voice made Zoe turn to not-relieved-mode as she realized he was still John Smith, as a boom rocked the ship and he fell lurching against a column of switches. "Just stop the bombardment. That's all I'm asking. I'll do anything you want, just, just stop."

"Say please", Son teased.

"Please", he replied. Zoe watched in shock, her arm hurting where Father hit her. What could they do now, if no one, not even Joan had managed to talk him into opening the watch and get the Doctor back?

Mother activated a control and stopped. "Wait a minute", she sniffed. "Still human".

"Now I can't, I can't pretend to understand, not for a second", he said, his gaze quickly diverting from the Family to Zoe and back. "But I want you to know I'm innocent in all this. He made me John Smith. It's not like I had any control over it", he added, losing his balance again against a pillar with switches.

"He didn't just make himself human. He made himself an idiot", Mother commented. "Same thing, isn't it?" Son laughed.

"I don't care about this Doctor and your family. I just want you to go. So I've made my choice. You can have him. Just take it, please! Take him away!". He cried, holding out the watch.

Zoe gasped as Son took hold of the watch, with one hand, staring at the engravings in awe, while grabbing John's lapels with the other. "At last", the creepy kid said. "Don't think that saved your life", he said, pushing him away.

"No!" Zoe cried, as the man fell over the wall again, landing on her side. "What did you do?". He looked at her, and Zoe felt something different, although she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Family of Mine, now we shall live the lives of a Time Lord", Son declared, opening the watch. Zoe closed her eyes as she heard them sniff loudly. But there was no golden light.

"It's empty!" Son said.

"Where's it gone?" John asked, panic in his tone.

"You tell me!", Son angrily replied, tossing the watch at him.

And just then, with a move that surprised everyone, but especially Zoe, John Smith was gone, and back was the Doctor, she knew it even before he spoke, as his arm stretched out to catch the watch in mid-air without looking.

"Oh", he started, lifting up, stretching the word in his own peculiar way, twisting the fob watch in his hands. "I think the explanation might be you've been fooled by a simple olfactory misdirection. Little bit like ventriloquism of the nose, it's an elementary trick in certain parts of the galaxy - but it has got to be said-", he started explaining, and despite how much Zoe had discovered he was good at kissing, she realized she was more turned on by his voice, his familiar rambling, him pulling out his glasses. "-I don't like the looks of that hydroconometer", he added. "It seems to be indicating you've got energy feedback all the way through the retrostabilisers feeding back into the primary heat converters", he told them, tapping on the pillar at the center of the room.

"Oh. Because if there's one thing you shouldn't have done", he kept on, twirling around the room as the Family became increasingly scared, "You shouldn't have let me press all those buttons".

He was back! Zoe was now really relieved, and she didn't care now about him being mad at her, or Martha feeling betrayed and disappointed, she was just genuinely happy to have the smug Doctor back, giving the Family his typical condescending explanation of how this was going to end bad for them.

"But", stressing the vowel, he kept talking, as he stretched an arm in Zoe's direction, helping her up without looking. "In fairness", he continued, turning with her in the door's direction, "I will give you one word of advice. Run".

They ran out in the field as the spaceship exploded.

"Doctor", Zoe started, when they were just far enough to not get caught in the blast.

"Why did you do that for?" he said, turning to her, a cold expression in his old eyes.

"I... I was just trying to buy us some time, I thought-".

"I'm not talking about you throwing yourself into their hands", he cut her off. "That was... that was really brave". He waved his hand in the air, as if to place them on her shoulders and then changing his mind, cautiously. "Weeeell. We'll talk later. I got to go".

In silence, Zoe watched him turn to the Family, his shadow hovering over them in the field, as the four laid down in the grass protecting themselves from the fires. She caught a glimpse on his angry gaze and she saw it, the fury, the oncoming storm. She realized then why he flew, why he had to run and hide from those enemies: he was being kind to them.

* * *

Martha didn't say a word to her for however long it took the Doctor to deal with the Family of blood, and the Doctor himself didn't have to speak when walking into the TARDIS, where the girls were waiting: Zoe knew by the look on his face she had to go with him and pay a last visit in 1913.

She had changed into usual clothes, and this time she took an effort in not resulting too futuristic and scare Joan more than necessary. She zipped her hoodie closed and walked outside in the morning mist, behind him, silently. Her Chuck Taylors and skinny jeans weren't warm enough for the weather, but she was shivering for other reasons.

They knocked, but the door was open when they walked into the cottage.

"Is it done?", Joan asked; she was looking outside the window and clearly wasn't ready to look at them.

"It's done", the Doctor replied.

"The police and the army are at the school, the parents have come to take the boys home. I should go, they'll have so many questions, I'm not sure what to say", she said, turning, and startled, she looked away. "Oh, you look the same. Goodness, you must forgive my rudeness... I find it difficult to look at you, Doctor. I must call you Doctor. Where is he? John Smith?".

"He's in here, somewhere". He replied.

"Like a story. Could you change back?".

"Yes". His voice was low and cold, and Zoe was mortified just looking at the exchange. She didn't know how Joan managed to get him to turn, but she did. That woman saved him, she saved all of them, and in return he was being more icy than usual.

"Will you?".

"No". However obvious, his flat answer bothered her.

"I see. Well then, he was braver than you in the end, that ordinary man. You chose to change, he chose to die".

"Come with us", he said, surprising Zoe.

"I'm sorry?".

"Travel with us", he insisted.

"As a... companion? With you and Martha and... gosh, I don't even know what your name is", she said, sadly, turning to Zoe.

"I'm Zoe", she said, feeling stupid even in just pronouncing the words.

"That's not fair. What must I look like to you, Doctor? I must seem so very small, someone to make fun of".

"That's not true", Zoe said, feeling so guilty and sorry for the lonely woman. "We could start again. We could try, and I'll be honest. The things you'll see", she tried to smile.

"I was not talking to you. Did you enjoy it? Act like someone else, taking him just because you could? I thought you were my friend. I was happy for you!", Joan added, and Zoe felt again how much she had hurt her.

"I can't", Joan said, turning to the Doctor.

"Please, come with us", he pleaded, again.

"I can't".

"Why not?".

"John Smith is dead, and Jane Richards didn't even exist, and they were my friends. And you two look like them".

"Please, Joan", Zoe was shy to speak now, aware that everyone in the room had reason to be mad at her.

"Answer me this, both of you. Just one question, that's all. If the Doctor had never visited us, if he'd never chosen this place... on a _whim_", she replied, emphasising the last word, as both Zoe and the Doctor felt the guilt rise up as they understood what she was going to ask. "Would anybody here have died?".

As they failed to answer, she nodded at the door, holding the journal. "You can go".

* * *

He didn't say a word on the way back either, but Zoe knew she was the one supposed to talk. As soon as she hesitantly called him, though, his train of words started spinning out of control.

"Doctor... I... uhm", she spoke following the urge to apologize, to say something, but thoughts weren't turning into words.

He stopped and turned to look at her.

"I... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I've... I mean, how I've, er-"

"Well, Zoe, what, what? What were you thinking? Do you think that was funny? That we were on holiday? In one of your films?".

"No, no, Doctor, I-". He sounded so frustrated she couldn't argue. And although he didn't mention Martha, the way she had reacted at seeing them together, and what she said the night before in the cottage, that was stinging into Zoe's heart more than the thought of being superficial in the Doctor's opinion.

"You... ugh! That was low, even for you. You... you even made up a brother!".

"I didn't!", she then replied on an instinct, gathering her strenght. He stopped, surprised by the sudden change.

"You always said you didn't have a family", he noted.

"My brother _was_ my family. He wasn't even my biological brother, but still - he died in Iraq. We changed seven different foster families together. I just don't like to talk about it- I didn't make him up!", she answered, upset.

At this, he calmed down, but he wasn't completely satisfied with the answer.

"Zoe, what were you thinking?", he repeated, softly, this time. "The... well, the... uhm, flirting, the lies, and... Martha, Martha is your friend, isn't she? You were not acting like yourself".

She sighed loudly, looking at him, straight into his eyes, holding his inquisitive piercing gaze.

"It's like you were a completely different person".

A shiver ran down her spine, and although neither said it out loud, they both were thinking of the same name: _Chloe_.

* * *

**A/N. Ok so it took me forever also because this episode was really tricky. I'm not leaving you with a major cliff-hanger because I don't honestly know when the next update will be. Hopefully soon - now that I'm back on this, inspiration will come. X**


	26. Doubt

**26 - Doubt**

"So... when did you start drinking again?"

Two days later.

It still felt unbelievable.

She never was really able to keep track of how much time had passed on the TARDIS, with all that jumping from place and time, but the (permanent, she uneasily noted to herself) line of dots had grown from her wrist up almost to her elbow, and even if she couldn't exactly say how much time she had spent with the Doctor - any Doctor, she definitely had stayed in Farringham for more than a month. Crammed in two days.

Her first feeling had been a little anxiety at the idea that she was never going to get _her own_ age right again.

Her second feeling had been disappointment: She had been gone two days and apparently the only one who wondered where the hell she'd had been was Paul. She had three flatmates, and truth be told, she wasn't used to hang around them, because of her bizarre work schedule, but when she walked through the door of her apartment they barely acknowledged her return. _I've been on different planets! I've met aliens! I've seen the London Blitz_!, she wanted to scream, but she had to admit sometimes, before meeting the Doctor, she'd been gone a lot more than two days without telling them, and it made sense that they weren't that worried. When she stepped inside her bedroom, the usual mess reminded her of the disaster waiting for her in her atelier at the studios. Clothes hanging on chairs and on the bedpost, scattered like lump clocks in a Dalì painting, made her think back at Vincent Van Gogh. The weeks in 1913 somehow fuzzed all her memories of the adventures that came before, unable to tell how much time in her past that had been, but it felt such a long ago. Well,_ it's all gone now_, she bitterly said to herself, before deciding that the dreaded explanations she would have to give to the producers about the cybermen incident could have waited, and that whatever, she was going to call Paul back first.

"Zoe?".

This time, his voice had the effect of snapping her back to the current reality, and only then she noticed the flute of champagne she was absentmindedly holding, half filled. Upon realizing she must have drunk the other half, she regained her focus.

"Oh... I... I didn't, actually", she apologetically said, looking into his worried eyes. "I wasn't thinking".

She quickly looked around and put down the glass to the nearest table.

"Are you all right?", Paul asked, gently, his hand on her upper arm. "It's like you don't even know where you are".

She giggled. Sometimes Paul seemed to have the power to read straight into her mind.

_Where am I? _Zoe couldn't help but feel misplaced. When she called him earlier, he was on his way to a very posh party, something to do with politicians. Years of high-level drug dealing had put him in a very closed, high rank circle of acquaintances, and it wasn't unusual for him to be spotted around important people. Election day was around the corner, and Paul kept waltzing to parties on a daily basis. _Put a nice dress on_, he had told her, _I'm coming to get you_. It had sounded like a good idea, at first, just to get her mind distracted from everything, to ease herself into numbness again.

Yet everytime she wasn't being introduced to someone, or smiling politely while Paul made his conversations, her mind wandered to the Doctor and Martha, and she kept questioning her own decision to leave. It seemed like the only thing she could do, and although the Doctor didn't agree - he even appealed to her abducted status, something that she had easily forgotten as their friendship became stronger - as soon as the TARDIS landed in 2008, she bolted out of the door.

Ok, maybe that had been a little abrupt. But the last time she had escaped by touching the console, the spaceship had sent her to a very dangerous situation, and she had ended up accidentally killing someone. Hell no. Also, the Doctor didn't exactly rush out to follow her, so. Either not caring or too busy being mad at her. Zoe knew the whole TARDIS adventure was anyway supposed to be temporary - she had noticed how the Doctor never gave her a key, while Martha had one.

"I'm sorry", she said, focusing to smile at Paul. Not that it would usually take an effort, but her head was elsewhere.

"Tell you what", he said, searching his jacket pockets for the cloakroom receipt, "let's get out of here". He wiggled his hand at her until she wrapped her fingers around his. "If you want drinks, there are more comfortable places to get a beer. I won't judge".

"Comfortable places?", Zoe repeated, with a somehow wilder smile.

"I meant a pub", he winked at her, giggling. "But of course, I'm open to suggestions". His whisper, so close to her ear, was always a turn on. He knew it.

He went to get their coats while she lingered at the entrance of the mirrored hall, so anonymous in its elegant appearance, just like any other posh party location. She looked at all the formal faces and clothing around her, the Chanels and McQueens, the shiny leather of men's shoes, the ties. and went back to check at her own reflection. All night she had the eerie feeling someone was staring at her, as if something about her screamed _I don't belong here_. Long sleeved, knee lenght blue embroidered dress, she was blending in. it was probably just a bit of paranoia. She loved her YSL sandals, which she almost never wore in fear of ruining them, but after what felt like an year in boots and chuck taylors she had felt at ease in slipping some nice high heels on. They weren't shoes made for adventure, and she made a point of avoiding adventures, at the moment. She had even managed to spray and gel her messy haircut back into a decorous style. Her bag only contained cigarettes and her keys. No universal roaming mobile or psychic lipstick. Out of her context, she almost couldn't recognize herself, but she was blending in. And her only thought was _what the hell am I doing here?_.

Again, Paul brought her back from herself, helping her into her coat, ever the gentleman.

He took a step to the exit, but she was just standing still, searching the faces around.

"Looking for someone?", he asked Zoe.

She looked around one last time.

"No... it's just, I feel like I was meant to see someone, and I forgot".

"What, were you supposed to meet someone else here?", he opened the taxi door for her.

"No, that's what strange".

"You're not making any sense", he noted, sliding his arm around her neck. "Whatever", he cut off any further inquiry on the subject by kissing her, hungrily, and her mind was finally in peace, giving in to Paul's sexy kiss.

* * *

"You look... thinner".

Sex was a good distraction, she pondered. Still, as soon as it was over, her mind had started roaming again. She turned to him, and smiled. "If I get any thinner I'll just disappear".

"I mean, fit. I never noticed how athletic you look. Been doing sports lately?".

A bitter giggle. "Just running, actually".

Paul's loft had big windows that spread the fazed moonlight like a mist over the scandinavian wooden furniture. Zoe was standing naked, idly smoking, the light giving her an allure impossible for Paul to take his eyes off. He knew something was up with her, that her thoughts were far from that bedroom. He wasn't offended, she wasn't his girlfriend, after all, but he cared about her, the former junkie who kept saying "I'll be clean someday", and who actually got clean. So many people had come passing through his life, coming and going, a lot of them gone forever, but she had stayed.

He stretched to stand and walked behind her; he placed a soft kiss at the base of her neck, and she shivered, as if awaken from a dream. Zoe turned her head just enough to feel his cheek on hers. Again, his breath gave her goosebumps.

"It's still chilly outside", he whispered. "You'll get a cold".

His fingers started gently caressing her arms, until he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. It was relieving, Zoe felt, to be that close to an actual human being. Their affair, although based entirely on mutual physical attraction, was one of the few stable things she had. Neither of them had ever expressed - or actually wondered - the desire of a more serious relationship, but, exactly as when she needed help in her bad days, Zoe now felt that Paul was the perfect man to keep her grounded. He was someone she could rely on.

She turned around and kissed him, not with passion this time, mostly with gratitude, and she knew that his somehow magical sixth sense told him something was wrong with her.

"Ehi", he smiled. "It's okay".

She drew back a little, stretching her arm to put out the cigarette.

"Thanks".

"For what?".

"Just... just being here".

He picked up the shirt he was wearing before and draped it around her shoulders, tugging it to warm her up.

"What happened to you?", he finally asked.

_You wouldn't believe me if I told you. _

"What do you mean? Nothing, nothing, I'm fine". Whoa, that came out too quickly. Worst acting ever, she thought.

"Come on", he said, putting up his trousers, taking a step back to sit at the edge of the bed.

She sat beside him, a little groan escaping her lips.

"We had dinner plans the other night and you didn't show up. I go to the studio and there's a mess there, you don't pick up your bloody mobile, and two days later you're back with a haircut you had ages ago, a new bizarre tattoo and your head in the clouds. What the hell-?".

"I just met someone...", she started, hesitantly. She couldn't tell him, how was he supposed to understand? She wasn't even sure anyone was supposed to know about the Doctor. "I can't stop thinking about it".

He nudged at her shoulder. "Ehi, I'm not jealous". He laughed.

"I didn't mean that". His earlier mention of the studio got her back to her responsibilities. The Doctor sometimes left places without taking care of the mess they left behind, but one thing she had learned was that there was always someone who would. People he helped, survivors, somebody always put a right to the bizarre situations that made the Doctor's path.

"Gotta go", she said suddenly, standing up from the bed, searching the room for her clothes. She had to deal with the studio, better sooner than later. No escaping from that.

"What, now? It's the middle of the night".

"I'm sorry". She said. Already half dressed, she turned her back to him so he could help with the zipper of the dress.

His fingers smoothly ran on her shoulders, careful not to lose contact with her skin.

"Where's your necklace? I've never seen you without it".

Instinctively, her hand went to her neck. "I've... forgot it somewhere".

He turned her around and kissed her lips, fondly.

"Don't you mean... with someone? I have this strange feeling, like if I let you go I'm never going to see you again".

"Who knows". She simply stated. There was nothing much else she could say. The necklace...

He put on the shirt she had just took off. "At least let me drive you wherever you're going".

"Don't worry about me, Paul".

"I just... you don't look okay", he groaned, as she went to the door.

She smiled at him, tying her expensive shoes.

"Thanks".

"You already said that. Why do you make everything sound like a goodbye tonight?".

She didn't answer. She put on her coat and placed a last kiss on his lips, only to hear him sigh heavily.

"Zoe...", he cupped her face. "I hope you find him, whoever it is you can't stop thinking about".

She walked out.

"I'll be okay someday, Paul".

He laughed. It felt like a goodbye, but he believed her, he wasn't worried anymore. She was an impossible girl, but this last thing she said was charged with trust in herself, and he saw it.

"I know. Go get your necklace back".

He closed the door, but Zoe was freezed outside. Those words, those exact words. The Doctor, the... Her mind raced - how could have she been that stupid? Bow-tie Doctor said the exact same thing, didn't he. _Go get your necklace back_. He wasn't alone in the TARDIS, future Zoe was with him, she had heard her talk to him. She had piloted the ship. Time can be rewritten, but she now had the complete feeling that her run from the TARDIS was just another detour, that she was going to see the Doctor again. Sure, he was mad at her, Martha was mad at her, but she knew their path hadn't come to the last crossroad yet. she knew she would make it back on the slow path, permanently. Oh, she had been so stupid. She didn't think. Facing her responsibilities didn't mean taking care of the studio, she just shouldn't have left the TARDIS. Too late for that. Still, uncaring of her not-made-for-adventure-shoes, she started to run to the nearest cab company.

* * *

The parking lot was easily accessible by foot, and for months the emergency exit through which studio staffers went out for a smoke had been forgotten open, much to the dismay of the owner who kept sending unsuccessful reminders to everyone.

As expected, after passing the few production cars that were permanently parked there, Zoe found the door was not only open, it was ajar. _Lucky me_, she thought. _Maybe I'm so lucky the Doctor and Martha would come and pick me up. _

Her confidence was soon gone, as she stepped into an obviously deserted studio. The filming area was clean. The elevator was working. No traces of the dismantled backdrop, or of the cybermen suits, of the weapons, nothing.

Like in a James Bond movie, somebody had already been there to sort out the disaster. As to who it might have been, a slight suspicion twinkled at the back of her mind, and she started pacing to her atelier.

The door was open, but, much to her relief, nobody was there. Nobody seemed to have been there, the place was just as she left it, mess, scattered pieces of fabric and metal, notebooks, everything as she had last seen it.

Her eyes lingered on her sketches, at the many creatures she had designed before seeing them. She swallowed hard, a bad feeling in her throat upon realizing the Doctor had been right, she hadn't invented anything. And now, the doubt crept into her as it must have had with him; the room she had spent so much time working in filled with the weight of something very wrong. Her hands were on the wall, inspecting the drawings. Why? How did she know those things?

More than ever, she knew, right then, that there was no escape, that she had a link with the Doctor, a link that couldn't be ignored, not by playing innocent, not by running from him. Gently, she took a drawing pin from the wall and carefully folded one of her sketches, again with that creeping sensation of impending fate. How silly, she thought, it's just a drawing. But it wasn't just that. Something in the room was quite not right. As if-

"Fuck", a thick voice said.

Following an instinct she didn't know she had, she had twirled quickly on herself just a second before the weapon hit her.

"What the fuck-" she said, but she was now drawing back to her desk, while the man - obviously scorned at her anticipating him - launched himself at her.

"What the f-" Her attacker repeated. He wasn't big, but she was still wearing a tight dress and not-that-comfortable-after-all shoes, and he easily got a grip on her, plunged over her as she bent, his pressure on her back forcing her to her knees. He was struggling too, trying to lock her hands with only one of his arms as the other hand searched for... a weapon?

"Atelier, quick", she heard him say, just inches from her ears. Not a weapon, then, communications. _Quick?_ He wasn't sure how much he could keep her there, then. _Great._

Again, survival instinct took over, and she fought with all her strenght as she struggled for release, however there wasn't much she could do. Zoe reared her face as much as she could and slammed her head back into his nose. The sound she heard wasn't good, but he immediately let go and she jumped forward to the door.

Her foot was barely in the corridor when she spotted someone at the other end pointing a gun at her. "Stop right there!". _Shit._

She let out a sigh and turned around, prepared to run the other way. Another person, another gun. Taken aback, she raised her arms, as the man came out of the room and quickly took her hands to cuff her wrists behind her back.

"You just had to go and break my nose, didn't you?", he hissed, without letting her go. His colleagues ran closer. Two women, one with a genuine look of surprise, the other talking.

"Oh my God, what do we do. what to we do, what do we do?".

"Kill on sight, she's on that list". The man said. _Wait, what?_

"Wait, what? What list...-" Zoe muttered. Not that lucky after all.

"Screw the list, there'll be some questioning". The first girl said, while the man pushed Zoe to the wall, her head tilted to one side just as quickly as to avoid her own nose being crushed.

"What is this? Who are you?" Zoe tried to ask.

The girl insisted "We better wait for-".

But she didn't finish her sentence, as the answer to Zoe's question came, from behind the girl, on Zoe's only line of sight with her head pushed like that. Someone she... that coat... no, no way. _No. Fucking. Way. _The whole situation had gotten so ridiculous she let out an hysteric laugh.

"This is Torchwood", Captain Jack Harkness said. "Nice shoes, by the way".

* * *

**A/N I'm sitting in a corner crying over Matt Smith leaving the show. Which is ridicolous because I cried so much when Tennant left, so my hopes are high that I'm going to love the next Doctor as well. (Just so you ****know, I'm rooting for Ben Whishaw although it's never going to be him)(he's already too famous, I suppose) - on a totally different note, I'm playing with the idea of Madame Vastra's Jenny being the same Jenny as Jenny-the-doctor's-daughter. But actually whoever she is I'm all for the idea of a spinoff series based on Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax solving crimes with people fainting every two takes. I'd call it Victorian Badassess or something like that. **


	27. Friends or foes?

**Very nice reviews like yours are a huge boost in creativity. Thanks! So I'm posting this even if I know it could be a big big mistake. ****Also, I don't know why ff doesn't seem to like my interruption lines. I'm going to re-edit the last two chapter to sort it out. **

**27- Friends or foes?**

"Well" Zoe giggled under the stranger's grip, "at least I'm up to date with 21st century fashion, captain World War II".

He walked closer, slowly, his deep piercing eyes locked onto hers, as if he was studying the girl. "Let her go, Owen".

Owen wasn't exactly happy to comply, and pushed one last time before letting her go, one of the girls rushing to him to check his face, the other one still looking at Zoe suspiciously.

"She's on the list", he grunted. "I should have killed her on sight".

"Not this one", Jack insisted.

Owen shrugged in disbelief, looking at Jack questioningly.

"Oh", the Captain added, grinning. "I think she likes me".

Zoe rolled her eyes, but she felt relieved. She and Jack hadn't left each other without suspicion back in 1941, but at least she wasn't going to die right then.

"Jack", the girl said, with a thick welsh accent, "Please say you didn't make us come all the way to bloody London just to get one of your girlf-".

"Gwen, just get Ianto. Owen, keys".

He groaned and gave Jack a set of keys. Zoe regained her shape, her mind puzzling around them. Torchwood. _Gwen. Welsh. Didn't want to kill her. Questioning Jack. Good. Owen. Fragile nose. Apparently trigger-happy. Not good. The other girl... silent. But she didn't seem too keen on firing, so, maybe good?_

"You're Torchwood", she repeated to Jack, not a sentence, not a question, just something lingering in between.

Jack didn't smile. He didn't exactly let her out of the cuffs, either. "Welcome", he just said.

Seconds later, a black SUV appeared. A man opened the doors and jumped out._ Ianto? _Zoe thought. _Good looking._

"Get them out", Jack told him.

The man waited. "Are you sure...?" _Probably gay. _

"I said, get them out, Ianto". Jack repeated.

"Well I've had enough", Owen said, walking to the car. "Enjoy your girlfriend. But be careful, she might bite". He wasn't letting go easily on her breaking his nose thing.

"Who says I don't like it?", Jack giggled.

"Let's go, Tosh", Gwen said to the other girl, giving Zoe a last worried look. Ianto stood speechless at the car, waiting for something from Jack's direction. Nothing came. _Ianto. Probably... not gay, but...Probably Jack's? _

The black SUV disappeared as fast as it came and Jack and Zoe were left alone in the parking lot. He kept looking at her, as to get his ideas together, without speaking. He paced carefully in a circle around her, and when he was behind her, he leaned in to talk into her ear.

"So", he started. Zoe heard a click. "Long time no see".

She wriggled her hands out of the cuffs. "Torchwood", she said again.

He smiled under her questioning gaze.

"So you're the one who always came to destroy my work in the past two years? I mean, gosh, Jack, I didn't even know you until... a couple of days ago".

"That was Torchwood London. Gone for a while. We're Torchwood 3. Cardiff", he interrupted her train of thoughts. "If I knew you've been here all the time, I would have come to get you earlier. But you've been on that list for over a century, and up until two days ago, nothing, no information on you whatsoever. Vanished from the world".

"Vanishing, yeah, that seem to happen a lot to me", Zoe replied, with an ironic grin. "What list are you talking about?", she wondered. "Your... team, they made it sound dangerous".

He started walking to the street, a hand carefully on the small of her back for her to follow along. "Of course it's dangerous", he paused, "It's the Earth Threatening list. Earth and alien enemies number ones - you've been lucky, too, the orders are to kill on sight. UNIT and CIA wouldn't have spared you if they got to you first-".

_Oh. That doesn't sound good._

"Jack", she said then, her breath becoming suddenly aware of the danger. "I'm not a bloody alien enemy. I'm just a props maker. I don't know what happened to those cybermen suits!" she groaned. "...who put my name on that list?".

"Easy", he answered coldly, suddenly stopping in front of her with his body. "Me".

_Fucking Jack Harkness, _

"What? Why?".

"Because you owe me some explanations", he said, his hands gently stroking her arms. His tone was ironic, but Zoe could sense some bitterness. Jack wasn't going to kill her, but things were not yet on the bright side. "You left me for dead on the Game Station. Stranded. Let's just say I needed some help tracking you down".

"Explan- wait, Jack, what... the Game St...", words weren't coming to her easily, and she tried to quickly gather her memories about him. "Jack... I'm Zoe".

"Whatever", he said, and kissed her lips. Surprised, she lingered a moment too long, and immediately after her whole body felt relaxed and she fainted, limp between his steady arms.

* * *

Zoe woke up dazed. _I thought I was done with knockouts, silly me_. She could feel her head spinning, but just like after a few drinks. At least I didn't do another time jump, she relieved for a second, before realizing she was sitting at her desk in the atelier. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of Jack studying her computer from above her.

"You could have just asked, you know", she snorted. "Besides, I don't know what you're looking for, but there's nothing there other than emails and ugly pictures".

"I needed time to check some of this stuff up before brining you to the Hub", he replied.

"Did you drug me?".

"No, I just kissed you. I tend to have that effect on girls sometimes".

She smiled, mocking him.

He turned to lean on the desk and pushed her chair a step back.

"What happened on the Game Station?".

"Jack, I don't know what you're talking about".

"Oh, okay, then, thanks for your time", he grunted.

"Really, though. Crossed timelines, remember?", she was angry now; Jack had been helpful with her and, well, she _did _like him, but she had had enough with people being mad at her for something she had no clue about. "Didn't it occur to you that maybe that hasn't happened to me yet?".

Her anger was somehow lifted by the sudden change of the look on Jack's face. Was that - disappointment? _despair_, even?

"You're useless", he noted sadly. "Let's go", he said, stretching a hand to her.

Only then she noticed she wasn't handcuffed.

"You're the king of mixed signals", she groaned at him and took his hand to stand up. "Where are we going?".

"Cardiff". He sighed. "You reappeared on that list, I have to keep you under custody".

"Yeah, Most wanted, blah blah blah. Did they at least put up a big reward?", she wondered.

"People are going to come for you. Dangerous people. Do you want to wait for them in a props storage room or do you agree that the Torchwood base is a better place to stay?".

She followed him quietly.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Zoe blurted. "Gosh, it's gross". She was holding a glass jar containing a severd hand.

_Typical_, Jack thought. _The Torchwood base, the impressive hub, and she notices the hand._

She had taken in the actually impressive view. An apparently invisible elevator, an alive flying pterodactyl, the rift manipulator controls, computers and test tables and lab technology everywhere, all hidden under Roald Dahl Plass in central Cardiff. It reminded her of the TARDIS, somehow, although this was a much colder place, and not just in temperature. She recognized some of the stuff around as alien, not because she had seen them before, mainly just because of their shapes and materials, but she was immediately and unexplainingly drawn to the glass jar with the floating hand.

"Put that down", Jack ordered.

"With pleasure", she shivered, putting down the creepy thing and following him into a conference room.

He sat down, patting a chair for her to sit.

"You didn't seem surprised to see me", he stated.

She rolled her eyes. "The things I've seen lately, Jack, forgive me if it's not that easy to surprise me anymore. Everything seems very plausible. Besides, you're a time traveller too".

"The team doesn't know", he warned her.

Zoe laughed. "So, all this alien technology, the... how did that girl call it? the... rift manipulator, and they don't know you've been around since the 40s?".

"The 40s?", he said, suspiciously.

"Yes, that's the last time I saw you. Well, first and last, actually".

"Hm". Zoe could sense he was deep into thoughts. "How long ago was that for you?".

"Can't really say. Somewhere around a month ago?".

He looked at her, with a weary look.

"I need Owen to run some tests on you".

"What sort of _tests_? and Owen? The one insisting to shoot me?".

"He's a good doctor, just try not to break his nose again. Just let him do his job".

* * *

"So, how do you know him?".

Zoe wasn't thrilled at the idea of having the still very angry Owen putting needles to her skin, and she started to think nor was the rest of the team, as Gwen was in the same room with no other apparent reason than making sure Owen wouldn't somehow take a revenge on her. As she asked, Zoe understood that Jack must have been keeping secrets that went far beyond his time travelling. Not that she knew that much about him either.

Funny though, she couldn't really answer without giving her little knowledge away.

"We met pretty randomly", she said, swinging her sandals out of her feet.

Owen switched on a couple of machines and started pulling out wires with electrodes.

"What? That's all?". He asked. Zoe had hidden behind a curtain to change into the white cotton pajamas she had been given and couldn't see his face, but could imagine his ironic grin.

"Why, do you want all the details?" she replied, turning to gently lay her dress on a chair, then gathering her shoes under it, muttering. "Pervert".

"Of course", Gwen noted.

Zoe sat on the medical bed, waiting for Owen to place his electrodes. Noises were coming from the other room and him and Gwen turned curiously.

"Something about you isn't right. You can't be older than twentyfive", he said. "yet your name is on the list since the 80s".

"I was quite a difficult child".

"1880s", Gwen said, raising her brow.

Zoe couldn't really answer, and tried to turn to sarcasm again.

"Isn't that a mistery?", she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Jack is acting weirdly curious with you. And we're curious about Jack". Owen explained.

"And I've been curious about Torchwood for quite a while. Looks like we'll all be disappointed". She said laying down as he carefully connected the wires to her chest. Whatever Jack was looking for, he wasn't likely going to get it from her blood samples and cardiac readings. "Especially Jack", she added, bitterly.

Owen switched on the machinery and typed on a computer to set a timer for ten minutes later, under Gwen's gaze.

"I'm going to get some tea", she told him. "Don't do anything stupid- Jack said to call him as soon as you're done".

The electrodes didn't hurt and for ten minutes all she had to do was breathe.

And think.

She had slept all the way to Cardiff and this was her actual first moment of recollecting her mind since leaving Paul's loft. Jack looked just like the last time she had seen him. Did he went straight from 1941 to 2008 or did he really just like that look? The same coat, the same haircut, his wrist vortex...what was it, -thingy. He was indeed mysterious, and looking for answers. Almost like the Doctor, although the Doctor never strapped her to a medical bed to run tests on her. The Doctor she was on good terms with, bowtie wearing manic friendly Doctor, had mentioned Jack, but she had no way of telling if he'd already met him. Better leave him out of the conversation.

She missed him, his floppy hair and quirky spinning around as if everything was fun. She missed the other Doctor as well, but some weariness had been filling the air the last times she'd been with him, and she could only comfort herself in knowing that even in a maybe distant future, she and him would be friends again. Leaving the TARDIS had proved a very unhappy decision as it now become clearer that finding her way back to the Doctor wasn't going to be easy.

But.

The _vortex manipulator_, that was the thing on Jack's wrist.

* * *

Gwen was still stirring her cup of tea when Zoe appeared in the kitchen, dressed again. "...This dress couldn't be any more wrong", she was muttering between herself.

"Oh", she exclaimed. "I didn't realize ten minutes had passed already".

"Time is overrated", Zoe replied, looking around the room.

"Yeah", Gwen said, tapping her watch. "Cup of tea?".

"Thanks. At least someone is nice around here".

"Don't say that". She warningly said. "If any of us followed UNIT orders, you'd be dead by now".

"UNIT?", she laughed. "Even UNIT now?".

Gwen handed her a cup watching her intensely, something was off about her. Something was wrong.

"Anyway", Zoe kept on. "Where's Captain Jack?".

"Didn't he check on you after the tests? Owen! You should have called me", Gwen yelled at the direction of the medical space.

"What?", came a lazy answer.

Before Zoe could understand, she felt hands turning her shoulders until she was facing a very angry Jack Harkness. "How the hell did you get in here?".

"I was..." she stuttered, "I was just getting tea, why?".

"I've had enough of your little games", he said, grabbing the collar of her dress, although much to her discomfort it was clear he was keeping himself from strangling her neck. "How-did-you-get-into-the-hub.", he spelled.

"What are you talking about, Jack?", she worriedly answered. "You drove me from London... we...".

"Jack...", Gwen cut in. "What's wrong now?".

"What is wrong", Ianto said from the door frame looking down at the med area, "Is, if she's the one who Jack brought in, who's the girl getting dressed down there?".

* * *

The look on Owen's face wasn't exactly a glare, it was more as if his eyes were jumping out of their places. With a quickness Zoe recognized as the same with which he attacked her in the studios, before she could make sense of what the people upstairs were saying, he was already pushing her again on the medical bed, struggling to keep her in place.

"Don't... Owen, I won't fight". She had a very bad feeling about one specific voice coming from upstairs, and although she dreaded to see _her _again, she knew she needed to face her. There was no point in resisting the Torchwood doctor.

Owen released a sigh. "Thanks. I'd like to keep some of my bones", he said pulling her up.

Zoe needed to recall all the creepy and dangerous things she had seen with the Doctor to gather her strenghts to step up the stairs to the office where the others were. _At least she can't kill me_, she thought.

As soon as she reached the doorframe, Jack caught a grip on her arm and shoved her to a chair, her back to the conference table. She wasn't that surprised to be sitting next to her identical image.

"Haven't I told you to go live your own present timeline?", she snorted to the other.

"Don't be so harsh, I'm not _her_. I'm you in about five minutes from now".

"Yes, yes, like I'll believe you. I've already met you, you know".

"Oh, just shut up".

Ianto and Owen were looking at them in disbelief, as well as Gwen, who had instinctively hidden behind Owen's back, scared by the double girl.

Jack didn't look scared, but he was certainly on edge. He had been tricked before, after all, so he wasn't too trustful of either one of the two girls. Of course, the fact that Second-Zoe was wearing the same exact clothes at the other wasn't helping.

"I'd gladly prove you wrong", Zoe kept on.

"You are not that smart".

"Oh, but I'll be in five minutes, right?", she snapped back.

"Shut up. Both of you!", Jack ordered, drawing his gaze from one to the other. Zoe-from-downstairs was almost piercing him with her own eyes, as if trying to tell him something.

With a quick, unexpected movement she stretched her arm to the table, as if attempting to pick up something, desperately, anything. Ianto anticipated her from the other side of the table and rolled a marker pen to her direction.

The other tried to stop her, launching herself on her back. Owen jumped in to stop her and was surprised by how stronger she fought back, so strong that Jack and Gwen had to help him. Zoe had however escaped her grasp by literally drawing back over the table to jump on the other side, still holding the marker. As fast as she could, she draw a big x sign on both her hands.

Everyone in the room kept still and silent as frozen. Owen was holding down Second-Zoe's shoulders while Gwen, tentatively, grabbed her hand and drew her closer.

Zoe breathed heavily as everyone else clearly saw the other girl had no marks on her hands.

"Nice try", she said, panting. "I've learned a couple of tricks myself since I last saw you".

"Ok, fine", she smirked. "Not five minutes... a little longer".

Zoe had enough. She jumped at the other girl's neck, ignoring the smug grin on her face and the feeling she could easily anticipate her moves. Owen let his guard down just enough for Chloe to grab his gun, and in drawing back he stepped into Gwen, and they both fell to the floor-

It all happened in a second.

Tosh chose that moment to walk into the already packed room.

Chloe fought Zoe off her and took hold of Tosh before Jack, Owen and Ianto could stop her, the gun now pointed to the confused girl's back.

Zoe stood up from where she had been thrown on the floor and took Tosh's hand, pulling.

The look on Chloe's face was wild and very angry, and she made sure everyone saw it by staring into each pair of eyes, warningly.

Without apparent effort, she let go of Tosh pushing her into Ianto's arms and in a singular fluid movement, she grabbed Zoe's wrist pulling her along outside the room. With the other hand, she pushed a button to lock the glass door and make sure everyone stayed put inside.

Without releasing her grasp, she shook her arms, relaxing, and stretched her neck lolling her head to both sides.

"Whoa", she said, exhaling heavily. "Now, you, bad girl. Really, it's a surprise how fast you learn. Still, not fast enough".

* * *

**A/N. Updates will come as soon as I'm done cuddling all these cute little plotbunnies. **


	28. Intensive learning

**Hi there. Here's another chapter (yes so soon!) to thank you all users and guests for your lovely reviews. **

**28 - Intensive learning**

"_Can't blame me for forgetting, oh! Such a long, long time ago. No worries though, you'll do just what I need, I know, I know. Now...". _

_Seriously, Zoe couldn't hide how much she wanted to wipe that smug freakish look from her future self's face. Possibly with loud punches... all her strenght gathered into fists. She knew Chloe was stronger, but she wasn't going down without fighting. _

The vortex manipulator on Jack's wrist was not just a teleport, and luckily it didn't take long for him to bypass the external lock and get the glass door of the conference room back open.

He rushed down the stairs followed by Ianto and Gwen, while Owen took care of Tosh, still scared.

He bumped into her while she was running backwards, as to trying to get away, and she quickly turned to bury herself into Jack's protecting arms. Smartly he checked her hands She looked scared, more, terrified. Jack tried to imagine what could happen if he ran into himself. Yes, terrifying.

"Are you ok? Did she hurt you?", he kindly asked, looking into her eyes.

"Mmh... Yes, no. Yes I'm fine, no she didn't hurt me", she replied, still panting.

"Ianto, put her in a cell", he waved at the girl on the floor, barely conscious. From the look of it, her head had slammed on the metal railing, and not too mildly.

"Did she say what she was after? Or how did she get in?", Jack inquired, holding her elbows.

"No clue".

"Well, at least one of us is getting answers".

She looked at him puzzled, wiping away her bangs from her forehead, the cross mark on the back of her hand smudging with sweat. "Jack... I don't think she will cooperate. I have a hunch she's not going to be too friendly".

"Let me tell you a thing or two about Torchwood questioning", he said flashing her a smile.

* * *

"How can you be so calm?", Jack looked concerned. "You're in the middle of a surprisingly long battle with your future self. Not the easiest of enemies".

"Yeah", Zoe said. "Sometimes I wonder if she's right".

"What?", he asked, puzzled. "I didn't think you could symphatize with the Hunter".

She smiled sadly. "I often wonder... what if she's on the right path and I'm wrong?".

He stood silent, but took a step closer to her. She shrugged quickly, as to shake some feelings off.

"I mean, don't we always think we know better and only time tells us how wrong we were? Sometimes I just think, maybe she does know better".

"Don't be so naive, girl. There's always a line not to cross. And the girl down there crossed it way too many times".

She looked at him warily, but ended the conversation.

"Jack, she's waking up", Ianto callled. The two stepped to his desk, Jack leaning over Ianto's shoulders to look closer on the monitor. Apart from Janet the weevil, a pet humanoid alien kept under custody, Chloe was the only one in the detention cells. They saw her stretch and sadly walk to the glass wall keeping her, her hand slowly tracing her own reflection on the surface. Jack was focusing on her tired eyes and started to reconsider what Zoe had just said about sympathy, when the girl in the cage started laughing. Loud. Manic.

"Enough", he said, and immediately spinned on himself, grabbing Zoe's hand to lead her in the basement. "Ianto, don't take your eyes off the screen".

They found her sitting on the concrete bench, her back on the wall.

"Well, well", Jack started. Zoe watched in silence.

Chloe let out a resigned laugh.

"You used to be a con man, Jack Harkness. I though you were_ smart_", she said.

"Your games won't get you anywhere", Zoe hissed, jumping at the glass. "You better just start talking".

"Who are you?", Jack asked, his arms crossed.

"I'm Zoe", Chloe replied.

"We know you used to be". Jack replied.

"No, Jack. I'm Zoe. I've never called myself Chloe".

Zoe laughed.

"Your hands are clean. You just managed to get into the hub wearing her same dress and shoes".

"Jack, you idiot. You caged the wrong one".

"Yes, and you expect me to believe in the few seconds it took her to knock you down, she also wiped your hands clean".

"Yes!", she yelled.

Zoe drew back from the cell, her eyes fixed on her real-flesh mirror image on the other side. "Look at her, she's desperate", she said with a giggle.

"What do you want?", he insisted.

"Jack, you came to me", Chloe insisted. "A part of you must be incredibly attracted".

"Weaknesses", Jack smirked.

"What's that hand in the jar?", Chloe kept on, ignoring him.

"Yes, what's that?", Zoe questioned.

"Neither of you need to know".

"Oh, but it's important, though, isn't it?", Chloe insisted, her eyes suddenly more focused on Jack.

"You couldn't possibily begin to understand", he silenced them. "And it's none of your business".

Zoe gave him a sideways look, pondering. "I think she's after your vortex manipulator again", she said then. Chloe glared at her and stood up, quickly. Jack lowered his head, a slow sad grin cornering his lips.

"Well, then we're all wasting time here. It's broken".

"Broken?" the two girls replied in unison.

"Whatever", Chloe said.

"Maybe she thinks she can fix it", Zoe said.

Zoe wasn't sure she could fix it herself, not without help. But it would be nice to try. Her engineering skills seemed to have grown lucky since she had met the Doctor.

"I'm...", Chloe said. "Jack, look at me. How about a trade?".

"Don't listen to her", Zoe said, worried.

"Shut up, Zoe. Do- do you really think you can fix it?".

"If it's already broken, what harm could I do? At least I could try... I know my bits and pieces about... stuff", Chloe kept on.

"Don't listen to her!", Zoe warned, again. "Let _me_ try and fix it".

Jack walked closer to the glass, staring into the girl's eyes.

"What would you want in return?".

She seemed to put a lot of thought into it.

Zoe walked closer to him again, and placed a hand on his still crossed arms. "Jack, please, don't bargain with her".

"Zoe", Jack said, without looking at her. "You're not the only one looking for answers".

"The test results".

"What?".

"The tests Owen ran earlier. I want them".

"You can't give her that, Jack. She's manipulative and clever and it's me you're talking about", Zoe said immediately. "Who knows what she can do with that!".

"Uh-oh, look who's scared now", Chloe smirked.

"Well, thanks to your little interruption, the machines didn't get any readings". He lolled his head to one side. "She didn't keep the electrodes long enough".

The daggering look between the two girls didn't seem to upset Jack, sho was only distracted by Gwen's voice coming from the intercom. "Jack, come upstairs a sec".

Chloe's face was blank, while Zoe waited in increasing worry.

"Of course", Jack kept on, ignoring Gwen, "we could easily run them again".

"Jack-", the intercom again, this time Owen.

"Owen, get ready", Jack cut him off.

"What?", Zoe looked unbelievingly at him. "Jack, you... ugh!", she sighed in frustration. Ianto appeared from the hall to lead her upstairs again.

Jack pressed some buttons on the wall and the cell opened.

"Don't play tricks on me, dear", he hissed to the girl, closing the handcuffs on her wrists. "You're just lucky I do actually like you. Or I did like a past version of you and I still think she's in there somewhere". From a few steps ahead, Zoe turned surprised in hearing Jack's words.

Everyone could tell things weren't running smoothly between Owen and Jack, and the young doctor didn't even try to hide how annoyed he was at running the tests again. Only the rage in Jack's quiet, low voice actually made him go and set up the machinery again.

"You can't just push a needle through a vein and get a blood sample, can't you?", he protested. "Besides, the readings-".

"Owen, you've caused enough damage by opening that damn rift- for once just do what I say".

The four were still climbing the stairs. Zoe was lost in her thoughts, thinking about the vortex manipulator. Even assuming it could be fixed, it wasn't as if she had any coordinates to find the Doctor. If only she hadn't let her superphone, and the TARDIS' number, at home in London, she could have given it a try.

Suddenly a loud alarm interrupted everyone.

Tosh was at her computer and called for the others. "Jack, the rift is spiking all over- I'm getting very bad readings from the Himalayas".

Ianto sped up to check the readings with Tosh and Gwen, and he let go of the girl. Quickly, she turned to Jack, stopping.

"What?", he asked.

"Thank you", she said, and leaned in to kiss him. Startled, he let her wrap her arms around him, touching, craving for contact, her whole body closing the distance between them. The gesture seemed to contraddict her recent behaviour, and along with the alarm still ringing, left him caught by surprise a second too long.

"Jack! You idiot!", the girl behind him called, warning.

At that very moment, the one who was kissing him stepped back quickly in a jump, holding Jack's vortex manipulator and pointing the gun at the girl.

Jack was speechless. It took him a second. How could he have been so stupid, really?

"Chloe", he stated. _Oh, now you're listening_, Zoe sighed in her thoughts.

"It was going so so smoothly. I should have known!", Chloe protested. "You little bitch, you really are getting clever faster than you should".

"Don't be ridiculous. If you shoot her, you die too", Jack warned.

"Well, there's really no point in aiming at you either, isn't it?", she smirked, walking backwards to the landing at the end of the flight of stairs. With the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Ianto, who had stopped running upstairs and was waiting to move.

Chloe turned quickly to aim at him, but before she could manage to keep both sides still to allow her escape, Zoe jumped at her neck, her hands still linked together. Ianto launched himself at the two girls on the landing, struggling with Zoe to disarm the other girl, when the gun shot.

"Ugh", someone lamented, muffled.

Zoe and Ianto retreated quickly, confused as to who was shot. Chloe saw her chance and ran upstairs. Jack pressed the lockdown button on the wall, standing up to follow her. Damn, she was _fast_.

At the top of the stairs, Ianto and Zoe went to one direction, and Jack ran slower to the other side. He knew he couldn't count on the others, as the rift alarm was still loud and obvioulsy taking all their attention. He was proud of his team and how they kept working, but sure he could have used some help.

When he reached the main room, Chloe was meddling with the wall controls to get the lift to work, holding the glass jar with the floating hand.

He was unarmed, but so was she.

"Put that down, Chloe".

"You don't know what to do with this. It's just... sitting there!". She replied, without interrupting her work.

"I said, put that down", he insisted, shaking his head to adjust as his strenght came back, taking a step closer.

She looked at the jar, inspecting it from up close. She was about to say something when Zoe hit her at the back of her head with the handle of the gun.

Chloe collapsed to the floor, Zoe quickly tossed the gun and took the jar from her hands before it hit the ground, and breathed heavily.

"You're going to regret this, child", Chloe warned her.

"You keep saying that. It's getting boring", she said.

Before Chloe could say anything, Ianto quickly stung a needle into her arm and caught an instant blood sample. "Ouch", she protested. "We'll see each other again, me and that hand, I mean", she concluded, standing up. Ianto opened a pair of handdcuffs, but before he could lock her she beamed at them, her hands glowing.

"Er, I'll see you two, as well", Chloe added, waving at Jack and Zoe, and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What the hell?", Ianto said, surprised.

"That... happens", Zoe stated, still breathing hard. Although she didn't know how she did it, she couldn't control it. She couldn't help but feel a tickling sensation in her hands, and she took a step towards Jack to free her hands. She felt something eerie between the objects, as if the hand in the jar was communicating with the vortex manipulator.

"Zoe", Jack said, walking closer. "I'm sorry".

"You just never listen, do you?", she said, not satisfied with his apology.

"It's not the first time you both trick me. And it really doesn't help that whenever I see you, she tags along".

Zoe was surprised to hear that. Although her fame preceeded her, the only other time she had met Chloe, Jack had actually been involved as well. What was binding them together?

"Maybe it's because you're easy to trick", she tried to mock him.

He sighed. "Something she said before... I really believe there's still part of you in her".

Zoe shrugged. "I hope so", she said, turning her eyes for a moment to the spot where Chloe had disappeared. "Are you ok? I thought you were shot back then", she worried then.

"I'm fine", he shrugged. "And really, I'm sorry".

"We'll get our answers someday, Jack", she said bitterly.

"I hope that's soon", he replied.

She felt a familiar painful sensation, a warmth engulfing her, as she passed the jar and the vortex manipulator to Jack. "I hope to see you soon too, Jack", she managed to say before the light took her away.

* * *

"We have to stop meeting like this", Zoe said when she recognized the arms holding her. "Ouch", she protested, holding her head with her hands. "This was worst than any other jump".

"Zoe", the Doctor smiled at her, a hint of worry in his eyes.

She tried to stand on her own and stumbled, falling into his arms again.

"Easy, easy, it's alright", he said, leading her to the captain chair, while she tried her best to avoid touching the Tardis console. She unintentionally kicked something with her foot, and only after he dropped her weak body on the chair she saw him picking it up.

A glass jar with a hand floating in bubbles.

_What the fuck_.

"What... what's with you boys and those creepy things? Is it a collectible? How...?". Her head was hurting a lot more than any other time she'd jumped through time and space, and she had trouble speaking.

He turned suddenly.

"Zoe, have you seen my hand before?", he asked, curious.

"Your hand? Don't be stupid, you have... both your hands", she muttered, with a lazy, disbelieving smile.

"I was still regenerating when it was cut off, I just grew another one. You should know that. Where have you seen it?".

"...how would I be supposed to... know that...", she was struggling to stay conscious. "Doctor... I don't feel...".

"Zoe! Zoe! What's wrong?", he said, leaning over her.

"...rift..." she managed to say with what she thought was her last breath, closing her eyes, while he franticly pulled out the sonic screwdriver and hovered its light over her limp body.

She blinked vividly, shook her head and stared into his eyes. "Better. Whoa! Much better. What were you saying?".

"That hand in the jar".

"Oh. It was at the Torchwood Hub, I was holding it before the rift brought me here. Funny though, I never noticed it was on the Tardis before". She said, glancing around. How could she not have noticed that creepy thing? With all the bumping and shaking the control room did? It must have been rolling around all the time.

Gently, he picked up her hands and rolled up her sleeve. Zoe realized her mistake almost exactly as he did, and opened her lips to speak, but she was confused.

"You're not...", the Doctor started, before a spirited voice interrupted him.

"Oi! If you needed privacy you could have just asked! What is it this time? Royal wedding, plus handcuffs?", a red haired woman was waving at Zoe's dress and shoes. "Where did you pop from now, anyway?".

The Doctor closed his eyes in frustration. "Zoe", he said, slowly. "Meet Donna Noble".

Zoe realized staring at the woman was a bit rude, but she couldn't help it.

"Who...? Wh-...?".

"I'll admit, two ladies jumping in randomly. Quite convenient for you, innit?", Donna kept rambling. "I had a boyfriend who kept his feet in two shoes, but this", she gestured, "is putting it up to an entirely new higher level".

"Donnaaa", the Doctor scorned her.

"Really, though. Such a skinny fella, and yet, who would have thought-".

"Donna!" the Doctor interrupted her again.

She let her hands drop resignedly and stopped. "Right", he said, turning to Zoe's hand to sonic the handcuffs open. "Er... well, you better get changed into something more...uhm...", he waved his hands over Zoe's dress. "...you know, well, uhm, more... appropriate".

Zoe raised an eyebrow at him. She was confused, but she could still recognize an implied insult.

"Oh!", he seemed to realize what he just said. "I mean, you look great. But you caught us in the middle of something, lots of running. As usual! Put your boots on, rockstar! Hop-hop!", he said feigning relax, and bent over the controls to get the Tardis started.

Still speechless, Zoe stood up and started walking to the wardrobe. Donna smiled at her. "I was just joking, you know".

Zoe stopped and offered her a hand. "I'm Zoe", she said. "Nice to meet you. Sorry I stared, I'm...", she tried to put the question easily. "Ehi, where's Martha, Doctor?".

He stood up and looked at her, thinking. "She left".

"Left?". Zoe repeated, and watched him nod his head. "I see", she said, stopping at the last step of the stairs. "Was she... was she still mad at me when she did?".

He walked around the console until he was in front of her and cupped her face between his palms.

"Zoe... It was quite a while ago. You don't have this talk with me".

Zoe felt the warning signs of spoilering in the back of her mind. "...Right...".

"Well, of course you do. You did. Or, I did, you will. Anyway-".

"Please, Doctor".

"All I can say is you definitely patch things up at some point. Right Donna?".

Donna placed a hand on Zoe's shoulder, smiling. "Trust him on this".

Her gentle eyes convinced her. "Ok", she shrugged. "So, what are you two up to?".

* * *

**A/N I'm a terrible person and I'm really terrible at writing action scenes. Also having two characters who look the same would be much easier for live action than for written action, so some mixing up between characters was intentional. Hope it worked. **  
**And, it was about time Zoe met the brilliant Donna. **


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